Fearless, Reckless Pursuit
by pepsicolagurl
Summary: They've been divorced for years, fighting every time they spoke. But the love of their child, and a few friends, may push them back in the right direction. (Contains an original character, Jay Reso, Chris Irvine, and Adam Copeland)
1. Chapter One

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for now, but it could change because of language issues (I curse a lot).

Disclaimer- I don't own anything but original characters. I'm not making any money off of this, but I am open to donations. Just address the cheque to me, and leave the amount blank.

Author's Notes- Well, this is my first wrestling fiction. I have no idea where the idea came from, but it wouldn't leave me alone, so this is what came about. The title, and lyrics that head each chapter are taken from the Amanda Marshall song, _The Gypsy_, from the album, _Everybody's Got A Story_. Everyone else, enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter One

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

As they walked off the plane, hand in hand, she couldn't believe what she was doing. Oh, there was some rationale behind it, of course. Her daughter deserved to know her father, but she shouldn't have to be the one to make sure that it happened. He had just as much free will as she did, but when her daughter had handed her the phone to talk to her ex-husband, and she had seen the trace of moisture in her eyes and the tremble in her lips, she couldn't help but say yes. He was the one that offered to pay for the airfare, and the hotel room, even giving her his credit card information, but that didn't mean that she was happy about it.

The frown was firmly settled on her face as she led her daughter towards baggage claim, dodging people as they went. Her daughter, on the other hand, was more than content to look around at all the other people rushing about, talking, laughing, and arguing. "Mommy," she asked, tugging at the hand that held her own captive. "Are we in New York yet?" she asked, looking up as the woman's face came down to look at her.

She forced a smile, and nodded. "Yes, we're here, honey."

"Where's Daddy?"

"He's meeting us at the hotel," she explained, before looking towards the luggage spinning around. They had waited until the last moment to get off the plane, knowing that her little girl wouldn't have been able to deal with the pushing and gentle shoving that occurred whenever it was time to de-plane. Their luggage was already waiting for them, and she instructed her daughter to hold onto the strap of her carry-on bag, as she hauled their two bags off of the carousel. That task completed, she led her daughter outside to choose one of the many taxis waiting. She allowed her daughter to pick out which one she wanted, and helped the driver load their bags into the trunk before slipping into the back seat.

After she gave the name of the hotel that they would be staying at, she turned to watch her daughter press herself against the window, gaping at all the buildings and people that they passed. It was her first trip away from home, and the first time in almost half a year that she was going to see her father. The woman knew that the excitement mixed with the early morning wake up was going to make her daughter fall asleep rather early that evening. If nothing else, she was going to get a good night's sleep.

The ride was quiet and uneventful as they pulled up to the front of the hotel. The taxi driver came out to help them remove their bags, and left them near the door of the hotel before she paid him, throwing in an extra five dollars for the tip. He smiled his thanks, winked at the little girl and left them. "Are we going to see Daddy now?" her daughter asked, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"We're going to see Daddy now," she responded quietly, looking through the glass doors into the lobby of the hotel. He was already waiting for them, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed against his chest, the same way he looked every time she kept him waiting whenever they went out for dinner or a movie. His head was bowed slightly, listening to what someone else was saying to him, a small smile on his face. She knew that the moment he saw her, his ex-wife, that smile was going to die away, like it always did.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, allowing her daughter to run in, bringing in the luggage with her. The high pitched chant of "Daddy!" rang throughout the quiet lobby, and his head turned to look at the six year old running up to him, a mile-wide grin on her face. He dipped down somewhat and caught her before she crashed into his legs, hoisting her up so that she was sitting on his hip. "You're getting too heavy to be picked up," he complained good-naturedly, accepting the kiss that she dropped on his lips. Her head dropped down onto his shoulder automatically as he shifted her weight somewhat, turning to look at the woman standing there. "Hi, Andrea," he said in a more subdued tone.

"Jason," she returned, just as quietly, before turning to the person standing beside them. She smiled suddenly, nudging the blonde man. "I almost didn't recognize you, Chris. It's been awhile."

Chris Irvine grinned before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. "Well, I had to come down and see you when you came in. It's been a year or so since the last time I saw you, and that was only for a minute or two." She kept her eyes on him, the same wry twist of her lips dancing on her face. "I came to say hello to my namesake?" he asked, reaching out to ruffle the little girl's hair as she giggled, waving hello to the man. "Okay, fine, I came down to see if I could pump your daughter full of sugar and then send her back to Jay. You know, the usual."

She laughed softly. "That's better. You never were good at lying, Chris." She turned to look at Jason Reso, her eyes meeting those of her ex-husband. "I'll take her to go get washed up. You can have her after that," she told him, her tone turning a lot more formal. His eyes narrowed slightly when he heard the familiar cutting slight British accent, before lowering his daughter back down to the ground.

He reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet, slipping a card out of it. "I already checked you in. I'm surprised they let me," he added, passing her the card. "I guess since we have the same name and all..." He let the words die off when he saw the stubborn look on her face. "Andrea, don't start this. Not now, not in front of Christina," he ground out quietly, after he noticed that his daughter was preoccupied with the other man. "Just take the damned key card and go up to your room. I'll pick her up in twenty minutes."

Matching his nod, she brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and turned back to Chris. "I have to take her upstairs. You can have your play time later," she teased, becoming visibly more relaxed when she had turned away from her ex-husband. "Unless, of course, you want to help me with the luggage."

"I'm offended that you think I wouldn't," he told her, before taking the handle of one of the bags, and Christina's hand in his other. He led them over to the elevator, shooting his friend a look over his shoulder, before turning back to the woman. "You okay?" he asked softly, taking in the way that her eyes remained forward. It took him a moment to realize that she was looking at Jay's reflection in one of the decorative mirrors in the lobby.

"I'm fine," she whispered, as the doors to the elevator opened. Chris led them in, before selecting the third floor for them. "You're staying here, too?"

He nodded. "Yeah, up on the sixth floor. Jay's staying up there, too. He thought it might be better if you two were on separate floors. He was originally going to get you two a room with a connecting door to his room, but...I kind of talked him out of it." She nodded slowly at his words, as the doors slid open and he led them to the right door. He waited until they had walked in and closed the door behind them before speaking again. "Is it hard? You know, seeing him again?"

"Christie, go wash up. Your dad will be here soon to pick you up." She watched as her daughter ran off to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. "It's hard not to see him. I didn't mean that the way you thought I did, Chris. I meant-"

"That when you don't see him, that means that Christina doesn't see him. I understand that, but I want to know whether it's hard for you, yourself, to see him."

She turned her back to him, her short brown hair hanging in her face as she opened the carry-on bag and dug through to find a brush. "I'd rather that he came to see her, rather than having me take time off of work so that I can cart her around North America whenever he has the desire to see her. And those moments that he wants to see her are few and far between," she ground out, her accent becoming more prominent and clipped as she spoke. "He thinks that I can just call in to work and say that I need a few days off, because my ex-husband is in New York and wants to see his daughter. He had time off last week. Why the hell couldn't he come down to Ontario and see her. It would have cost me a lot less money."

With a sigh, he walked over to her and placed his large hand on her back, between her shoulder blades. "Well, Jay's paying for this, isn't he?"

"But I still had to take a four days off from work. I can't afford to do that. Yes, Jay sends me money every month. He sends me the exact amount that the judge said he had to. But that doesn't cover everything. What with rent and all the other bills, plus her uniform because he insists that she goes to that damned private school, I barely have enough to make it through the month. This little vacation isn't helping." She turned her head to look at him, a small smile growing on her face. "But you should have seen the look on her face when she was on the phone with him. He knew what he was doing when he asked her before asking me. I couldn't say no after that."

They both straightened up when the bathroom door was opened again, Christina bouncing out with her hands and face freshly scrubbed clean. Her mother sat down and motioned for her to sit between her legs, before taking the messy ponytail out of her hair and brushing it out. "So, after Daddy and Daughter Day starts, do you want to go grab a cup of coffee with me?" he asked the woman, winking at the little girl when she winced at the pull on her hair.

"I've got nothing better to do," she mumbled around the hair ties in her mouth, dark brown eyes sparkling at him. She quickly made the girl's shining blonde hair into two braided pigtails, watching as she ran off to answer the knock at the door. It took her using both hands to turn the knob, and Jay pushed the door open with his hand when he saw her struggling.

"You ready to go, munchkin?" he asked her, before flicking his eyes up towards the woman. She stared back at him, her shoulders tensing as she readied herself for whatever he was going to say next. It was a common stance that she took whenever she spoke to him, considering the fact that their conversations more often than not escalated into shouting matches. "I thought I'd take her out for dinner tonight, but we should be back around eight," he offered.

She blinked in surprise at the friendly tone, before realizing what game he was playing. Their one rule was that they never fought in front of Christina. She rarely saw her two parents together, and when she did, they didn't want her to be uncomfortable. "That's fine, Jason. Just bring her back here around then. Her bedtime is earlier than normal tonight."

He nodded. "Sounds good," he told her, before dipping his head to look at his daughter. "Say goodbye to Mommy and Uncle Chris before we go."

Christina stopped her impatient pulling on his hand before twisting to look in the room. "Bye, Mommy. Bye, Uncle Chris. All right, Daddy, let's go," she cried, trying to pull him along. He chuckled before letting the door swing shut.

The two occupants of the room remained silent for a moment, before Chris finally spoke. "Well, what do you say? Coffee, maybe a piece of cake...I'll even buy you some ice cream."

A small smile curved her lips as she stood up, reaching for her purse. "Oh, you mean, you're going to pump me full of sugar and send me back to Jason?"

The man shuddered as he opened the door for her, leading her out. "I would never do anything like that. I wouldn't want to be the one to see what was left of Jay when you were through with him, either. You know, sometimes, Andrea, you scare me. The way that you can turn one of Jay's good moods into a bad one is frightening all on its own, but you, my dear, are a truly scary person."

She grinned as they waited for the elevator. "It's the dry British humor, isn't it?"

He shook his head. "Nah, you've lived in Canada long enough that you've adopted just plain old sarcasm. I think it's just you."

Reaching out, Andrea Reso swung her hand into his stomach, listening to his grunt with a satisfied smile. "Come on, now you owe me more than coffee for that comment."


	2. Chapter Two

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. My swear jar is sitting in front of me, as well as a pile of quarters. Let's see how well I do.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One.

Author's Notes- I'm executing my creative license, and creating a bit of backstory for the characters in the story. So, not everything is right, but in my world, it sounds better. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Two

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

He looked up, examining the woman in front of him. Her short brown hair, barely brushing her shoulders, framed her face, as she dipped her head, playing with the spoon in her coffee cup. One lock of hair had broken away from the rest and was hanging down her face, hiding one deep brown eye. "Andrea, are you all right?" Chris asked softly, causing her head to come up.

Her hand brushed away the stray strands of hair, and removed the spoon from her coffee, laying it down along the saucer. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"I know you well enough to know that you're lying. You frown when you think. You purse your lips when you're pissed off, and you were pursing your lips. What gives? Jay's not around, so there's no reason for you to be mad."

She blinked her eyes innocently. "Please. Don't you know that I spend most of my days plotting how I'm going to kill him?" she asked, before shaking her head. "That wasn't even worth the chuckle that you gave it, Chris. I'm just...did you see how excited Christie was earlier?"

His head bobbed up and down in a nod, short blonde hair brushing his cheek. "Yeah. How could I miss it? She was practically bouncing off the walls, and she usually only does that when I sneak her a chocolate bar. Christie loves seeing Jay, you know that. She looks forward to these visits all the time."

"Yes, but how often does Jason want to see Christie? It's going to be the same story all over again. When I get home, she's going to tell me all about how he promised that he would stop by on the next weekend, or maybe the weekend after that, and he'll never show. She remembers these things. She gets upset when he doesn't come, and then I have to spend the next two weeks trying to cheer her up. I think that Christie takes after him in that department. They're both emotional and take things too seriously."

Chris grinned across from her, blue eyes sparkling with laughter. "And you're the carefree one, right? Please, I remember what it was like when you two were dating. He practically had to beg you for that first date. He walked around for two weeks, determined that he was going to get you to say yes, and when you did, he almost had a heart attack. After that, if he wanted to go out to a movie, he had to ask you at least three times. Face it, Andrea, you'd rather stay in than go out."

She shook her head with a smile. "I know. I remember the look on his face when I did say yes. He haunted that restaurant for almost three weeks, asking me out every time. I don't even want to think of how much money he spent, ordering breakfast, lunch, and dinner there, on the off chance that I might be working. It was better before we married, you know."

"I never really understood that," he confessed, shrugging his shoulders, before sipping his coffee. "You two always seemed so happy together, and it was the same after the wedding. At least, it seemed to be. But then you were pregnant, and he was working more to pay for all the extra bills, and all of a sudden, after Christie turned one, you guys split. Why?"

Her brow furrowed for a moment, looking back down at her cup of coffee. "I'm not entirely sure, to this day," she said quietly. "After she was born, he wasn't around a lot. I mean, he lived through those first sleepless nights with me, but it was soon after that when he got his call to come up to the big leagues. It was his dream, I couldn't tell him not to because he had a wife and infant at home. He kept pushing himself because he was new, and he wanted to make an impression. It just meant that he was rarely at home, and when he was, we were both stressed out. We kept fighting all the time."

"You broke up because of that? Why didn't you just try to work it out?"

"We did, Chris. Nothing seemed to work. Most of the time, Christie was sick with some cold or flu or infection, he was screaming at me every day he was home...I just couldn't take it anymore. So I packed our things and went to stay with my mother. I told myself that I would give him a month, but he never asked me to come back. That's why I filed for divorce. He didn't fight it, you know that. He let me take what I wanted, and he moved in with Adam. That was it. To this day, we pick up right where we left off, fighting and screaming at each other. We can't even have a civil conversation anymore."

A new voice broke into their conversation. "Do you want me to beat some sense into him?" She craned her neck and looked up, seeing a grinning Adam Copeland staring back at her. He kissed her cheek and then took the seat next to her. "I heard you were in town. Jay's off with Christie, I take it?" he asked.

She nodded. "They took off about thirty minutes ago. Something about a zoo, ice cream, and a trip to a toy store. It's good to see you again, Adam?"

"Again? I just saw you two weeks ago, or don't you remember? I even cooked you and Christie breakfast." He caught the look Chris gave him, and shot him a look in return. "Well, someone has to check up on her, because Lord knows, I don't want my favorite niece to be corrupted by a Brit."

Andrea smiled, clearing her throat. "First of all, she only calls you 'Uncle' because I told her to. And second, Chris just informed me that I've been in Canada long enough that I'm not really that British anymore. To top it off, I'm not in the best of moods, so I wouldn't try to tick me off."

He just smiled and wrapped an arm around, giving her a half-hug. "Honey, you know that I would never try to piss you off on purpose. If I wanted to do that, I would just mention something about how Jay's still in love with you, but I'm not like that. That sort of stuff is beyond me." He turned towards her and propped his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. A smile started to grow on his face when he saw the color race out of her face and her eyes widen. "Uh huh, so it's true. You're still in love with him, too."

"Must you do this every time I see you?" she asked. Andrea was almost surprised that the words got out, with how tight her throat felt. He did it to her every time they met, trying to make her say the words. She knew that he meant well. After all, Jay was one of his best friends, and he had known Andrea just as long as everyone else. That didn't mean that she liked it. "Really, Adam, I don't know why you keep doing this."

"Leave her alone, man," Chris warned from across the table, shaking his head. "She doesn't want to hear it, and I can't blame her. Besides, we were talking about Christie, not Jay and Andrea."

He shrugged. "Well, Christie loves Jay, too," he added cheerfully. His playful grin turned into a wince as he reached under the table and rubbed the leg that Chris had kicked. "What was that for," he mumbled.

Chris cocked an eyebrow in his direction, nodding his head towards Andrea. "You know damned well and good what that was for, Copeland, so don't be giving me that wounded look. I swear, sometimes you act younger than Christie, and that's saying something." He turned back to Andrea, taking in her wide-eyed look. "Just ignore him. He'll stop after awhile, and I'll wait until you're gone before I beat him up for you."

A weak smile made it onto her face. "With bodyguards like you two, it's a wonder that I can even get a date."

"You've been seeing someone recently?" Adam asked, more serious this time.

She met his eyes and shook his head. "No, I just mean that I can get a date. Someone from work asked me out. He didn't even seem scared off by the fact that I have a child, but I said no. Christie's only six. She needs me there as often as possible." She shook her head with a faint smile. "It's not easy being a single mother."

Adam shrugged beside her, signaling for the waitress at the same time. "Yeah, but all you would have to do is get a babysitter. I'm sure one night away from Christie won't kill her. She'll probably like it. You know, baby-sitters always let you stay up late, and eat junk food. They're more fun than mothers and fathers."

"She's too shy for something like that. How long did it take for her to warm up to you, Adam? And you've been around her since the day she was born." She saw his confused expression and grinned. "You used to scare her. You were loud, you used to tease her mercilessly. She didn't know what to think of you. Now, she's used to her, but how do you think she would feel if some stranger came into the apartment and stayed with her for a few hours because I wanted to go out for a good time."

"Yeah, but you've got to let go of her eventually, Andrea," Chris interjected. "You can't protect her your entire life. She has to get used to having the occasional baby-sitter. What's going to happen when she gets older, becomes a teenager. She's going to be a quiet, scared little thing that's eventually going to resent her mother for not letting her have fun every now and then."

She looked down at her lap with a frown, not wanting to answer. But she also knew that Chris wouldn't let her get away with that. "Like I said, it's not easy being a single mother. Jason helps me financially, because the judge forced him to. Financial help is fine, but...we need more than that. Christie needs more than that."

"You need more," Chris added softly, as the waitress came to take Adam's coffee order. He reached across the table and rested his hand against hers. "Do you want me to talk to him, see if I can get through to him. He might listen to me."

She straightened up, shaking her head with a determined look on her face. "No, that's my job, as much as I don't want it. She's my daughter, he's my ex-husband...this is something I have to do. Even if we just end up in another shouting match."

"Make sure Christie isn't in the room," Adam suggested, tapping his fingers on the table. "You know he wouldn't do that in front of her."

"I'm not going to use my daughter like that. Not like how he used her to get us out here," she added. "No, it's about damned time that I stood up for myself against him. Just don't be surprised if he's missing body parts at the end of it."

Both men shuddered and protectively crossed their legs when they saw the smirk on her face.


	3. Chapter Three

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. The swear jar is still empty.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One.

Author's Notes- Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Three

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

It was a few minutes after eight when the soft knock sounded on the hotel room door. If there was one thing that she admired about her ex-husband, it was the fact that he was always punctual. She got up from where she was laying on the bed with a novel, and made her way over to the door, opening to it reveal him holding a sleeping little blonde. She smiled at her daughter, and opened the door wider for them to enter. "She fell asleep in the taxi, when we were coming back from dinner," he whispered, cradling his daughter against his chest. "She must have been exhausted."

"Well, she got up early for the flight, and she was overly excited because of the fact that she got to see you," Andrea whispered in return, before turning to nod at the bed. "Just put her down there. I'll get her into her pajamas." As she spoke, she turned on her heel and went towards the smaller suitcase, opening it to take out a pair of white printed pajamas.

When she turned back, she saw Jay resting on his heels next to the bed, removing the braided pigtails and combing out the now wavy blonde hair with his fingers. "Do you need any help?" he asked, turning to look at her. She nodded silently, refusing to meet his eyes, as he shifted the sleeping child so that her mother could slip the lightweight jacket off of her, and then lifted her so that she could slip the sun dress off of her. He watched as she quickly pulled the top over her head, pushing her arms into the sleeves, and then pulled the pants on her, pulling back the covers on the bed. Jay lifted her again to place her head on the pillow, pulling the blankets up to cover her. "You're good at this. She didn't even wake up."

"She never does," Andrea answered. "Thank you for the help."

"She's my daughter, too. It's the least that I can do."

She frowned at the sharp yet whispered words, before raising her head to look at him. She met his blue eyes with a sigh. "We need to talk, Jason. You know that we do."

"You mean, you want to yell at me again."

Crossing her arms, she slumped, adopting a more defensive stance as he glared at her. "No, not yell. We have to talk, and we can't put it off any longer." Without waiting for his answer, she walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it, beckoning for him to join her out on the balcony. Despite the fact that he really didn't want to, he followed her out there, and slid the door almost shut behind him, keeping it open an inch so that they could hear is Christina woke up. "You can't keep doing this, Jason," she began, watching as he walked over to the railing and leaned against it.

"What are you talking about, Andrea? All I did was take her out for the day. It's not like I've corrupted her by taking her to the zoo."

She rolled her eyes, glaring at him. "Can we not do this? Call a truce or something just for a few minutes, so that we can have an actual conversation?" Reluctantly, he nodded. "Good. I meant that you can't keep making her promises that you aren't going to keep. You keep promising that you'll stop by or you'll take her somewhere, but you never come through on it. She's a little girl, but she still gets disappointed when you don't show up."

"If I don't, I call her. You know that. Hell, you always answer the phone."

"That doesn't make up for not seeing her father. She mopes around for a week or two after your phone call. Despite all you do to her, she loves you with all her heart, and you know it. She looks up to you. You're her father, but she sees Chris and Adam more often that she sees you. Don't you understand that? You can't keep playing this game with her. She'll start to think that you're a liar, and...she needs her father in her life."

He looked down at his feet, a frown on his face as he allowed her words to sink into him. He could always tell when she was angry, because of the way her voice changed. Her accent always became stronger, and more clipped with every word, but if he didn't know better, she sounded like she was pleading with him this time. It was strange. He hadn't heard that tone directed at him for a long time, since before they met with the judge over the divorce proceedings. It was the same voice that had caught his attention the first time he had seen her in the restaurant, all those years ago. "Why did you take her away from me, then?" he asked softly, before looking up to meet her eyes. "I'm not accusing you, I'm just asking."

With a deep sigh, she raised her hand and ran it through her shorter hair. "I didn't want to, but I thought it would have been easier. You were always so angry, and so tired, and the moment that she started to cry, you would just...snap. I couldn't stay there anymore, not with you acting that way, and I didn't want her to be raised that way. I didn't have much of a choice. I didn't want Christie to grow up without her father, and I still don't, but you're not making it very easy on either of us."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at her words.

"I mean that I don't want to have to protect my daughter from her father, but if it comes to that, I will. If you do this to her one more time, I won't drop everything and come running just so that you can see her. You'll have to make the effort from now on, not me. I can't afford to anymore. I had to take time off of work for this, and I can't afford to do something like that. We need the money."

His frown returned. "I thought that was what the child support was for."

Her eyes were filled with regret when she realized what she had said. "That's what it's for, yes. Never mind, Jason. It's been a long day, and I'm tired. I should go in and get some sleep. Christie will be up early, anyway."

Turning away from him, she went to open the sliding glass door and step back in the room. She stopped suddenly when she felt his warm hand on her arm, fingers curling around her elbow as he tried to stop her. "If there were something going on, you would tell me, right? I mean, there's nothing wrong with Christie or...or with you, is there?"

"No, Jason, I wouldn't tell you, unless it had something to do with Christie. We're divorced. You don't have to fake concern for me. All you have to worry about is your daughter. Now, please, let me go. I want to get some sleep."

* * *

Sleep wasn't coming easily to Jay that night. He tossed and turned for two hours, before he gave up, and remained on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He purposely kept his eyes away from the small travel alarm clock, not wanting to see the glowing numbers that would let him know just how much sleep he was missing out on. Andrea's words continued to ring through his mind as he sighed, bringing up a hand to rub his face. He couldn't believe how much things had changed in the past few years, how the two of them had gone from a happy couple, to two strangers with a daughter. And he knew that he certainly didn't like the change in their relationship.

He remembered what it was like when they had first met, how he felt when she had finally said yes to going out with him. He had been ecstatic that he had finally broken her down and had gotten her to agree to the date, but then the nervousness had set in, when he began to wonder if the only reason she had said yes was because he hadn't left her alone for a few weeks. She had been so quiet, so unsure of herself the night that he took her out. He had taken it easy on her that night, taking her to a movie and then coffee. He had figured that the movie would at least give them something to talk about afterwards, but she had loosened up soon enough, and he had found himself telling her the stupidest of jokes, just to hear her laugh and see her eyes brighten. He hadn't wanted to push his luck, and he drove her home, even walking her to the door of the house that she and her mother were living in. She had been the one to kiss him goodnight, albeit on the cheek, and he had asked her out again.

It wasn't long after their third date that they ended up at his apartment in bed. They were both adults, and they knew what they were getting into. Their kisses weren't so chaste that night, and he still remembered the feel of her skin under his hands, her breathless moans and cries, the shudder that went throughout her body at the end. He had fallen asleep with his arms around her, her head on his shoulder with her face tucked against his neck, and a sheet barely covering the two of them. It was like he couldn't get enough of her after that night.

Three months later, she had moved in with him. She had accepted his life the way it was, and only bit her lip to stop from commenting whenever he came home with bruises and cuts from wrestling. She accepted the late nights, and the days that he was away, traveling for a job. He had walked in late at night, sometimes early in the morning, only to find her asleep, holding onto his pillow.

His friends had accepted her, and even included her in some of their wild nights out. Adam had taken to her because she took all the verbal punishment he could give, and then returned it with her cutting British humor. He could still recall the first time that Adam and Andrea had met, and he had made some sort of sarcastic comment to her. Jay had cringed, not knowing what her response would be, but she had turned and looked Adam right in the eyes and fired something back at him, both of them watching as his smile grew into a grin. Chris, on the other hand, had gotten to the more serious side of her, and to listen to the two of them talk was almost frightening at times, discussing world news and politics or cartoons with the same dead seriousness.

Jay had gotten it all. The humor, the seriousness, the laughter, and the tears. He had fallen in love, and it had happened hard and fast. They were young, however, and still careless, so when they had been together for almost a year, and he had asked her to marry him, she had said yes without a second thought. Maybe they had been TOO young. It was almost like a game to them, playing the roles of husband and wife, like in a bad romance novel, moving into the small two bedroom house. And then she had gotten pregnant.

There were no late night cravings, no particularly bad moments when she would turn around and snap at him. Hell, it was the easiest pregnancy he had ever heard of. She had loved being pregnant, loved the way her body grew with every month, only occasionally complaining about the pain and swelling, about the sharp kicks. He knew that she was trying to stay positive because of how he had worked more often than usual, the two of them trying to save money for when the day actually came, and to pay for all the doctor's appointments. She had worked as long as she possibly could at the restaurant, and then taken her maternity leave.

But after Christina was born, it was nothing but crying. If she didn't have a cold, it was the flu, or an ear infection, or colic. It broke his heart to hear his little girl screaming in pain, and before long, he couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand laying in bed, listening as Andrea got up to try and comfort her. He couldn't stand sitting up with her all night, holding her as he sat in the rocking chair that had been a gift from their friends, trying to stop her crying. When he had gotten the offer from the then WWF, he had found his escape.

He was tired and worn out whenever he was at home, and she was the same from dealing with a sick child constantly, day in and day out. They had begun to snap each other, and when they realized that they had escalated to shouting matches, they had gone outside into the back yard, not caring if the neighbors could hear them, but not wanting to disturb the few minutes of sleep that Christina seemed to get. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to put up with it, but it had still been a surprise when he had come in one day and seen that all of her things, and all of Christina's were gone. She had left him a note, explaining where she had gone, and he had sat down on the edge of the bed, desperately fighting back tears.

He didn't ask her to come back, because he didn't want to admit that he had been the one to chase her off. Chris and Adam, and the rest of their mutual friends, had never known that she had left until the day that the divorce papers had arrived at the house. He couldn't blame their confusion when he had calmly signed his name and then sent them back to the lawyer she had hired. And after they had left, he had sat in the empty house, which had been completely silent, and finally allowed himself the tears that he had fought back for the past month.

He should have tried to convince her to come back, he knew that. They hadn't been together for that long, almost three years, but he knew her well enough to know that if he had asked her to move back into the house, she would have, and they could have made their way past the arguments. But he just couldn't. He had been too stubborn, and was still that way to this day.

Jay sighed and rolled onto his side, turning his eyes towards the wall. He would be lucky if he got any sleep that night.


	4. Chapter Four

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. Although I'm still waiting for the dirty words to pop up

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. It's a doozy.

Author's Notes- **Dame Flame**- Yeah, I'll explain the whole naming incident thing. I just haven't decided which version of the story I'm going to choose. And you're right. It's time for me to go a little more fluffy, since everything else I write is out and out angst. **huntersgirl** and **Exyla4now**, I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the story.** ohmystars**, I completely agree. There aren't enough Christian fictions out there, and it frustrates me to no end. He was the first wrestler that ever caught my attention (that was back in the Brood days), and has kept it all these years. **kandiland**, I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. I'm sorry something like that brought your attention to it, however. And we are now entering the flashback area of the story. So, as usual, enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Four

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

_"Well, I have to admit, it's a lot cleaner than I had thought it would be," she teased, turning to look at him._

_He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, don't look in the closets. I kind of threw everything in there, but I did do some cleaning. I mean, I dusted and stuff." And there was that laugh again. The soft giggle, the sparkle in her eyes, the color that raced to her face. He leaned over and nudged her with his elbow. "I promised you a good movie, so I'll let you pick it out."_

_"Oh, really? You trust me to pick out a good movie?" she asked, her lips curling into a smile. She laughed at the look of mock horror on his face, nudging him back before following him into the dark living room of the apartment. He turned on a nearby lamp and knelt down on the ground, reaching underneath the futon couch, pulling out two large plastic storage boxes filled with video tapes. _

_Jay shrugged at her look. "What, it helps keep the couch from falling anytime anyone sits on it. I also don't suggest sleeping on it. I've been meaning to buy a new one."_

_Andrea's eyes scanned the living room. "Well, it's a good thing that you have that armchair then, because I don't think that I trust your chesterfield all that much." She knelt down on the ground next to him, pawing through the movies. He sat back and watched her face as she examined each cover carefully, reading the back of it before putting it back. The look of concentration of her face brought a smile to his; she was taking it as seriously as she would as if she were buying a car or a house._

_It had taken a good twenty minutes for her to pick the movie that she wanted to watch, and when he turned away from putting the video in, he saw her curled in the worn, but comfortable armchair. "It looks like I ended up with the best seat," she told him, her head cocked to the side as she smiled up at him. _

_"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" he asked, before walking over to her. He slipped an arm under her legs, the other looping around her back before he pulled her into the air, listening to her squeal of surprise. He took her seat and then settled her on his lap, her head automatically resting against his shoulder. It wasn't the closest they had been, but it was damned close, and to tell the truth, he had wondered if he was going to get an opportunity to do something like that._

_The movie couldn't hold their attention, however. They were both distracted through the first half hour of it, despite the fact that he had watched it before and had enjoyed it. If asked, he wouldn't honestly be able to say who had started the first kiss. It had seemed mutual, both of them turning to look at the other, their lips meeting halfway. One hand rested on her thigh, the other brushing the long, heavy hair out of her face. The movie was only background noise as he shifted her to bring her closer, tearing his lips away from hers only to kiss the nearby skin of her neck. He raised his face from her heated skin, trying to slow his ragged breathing. "Andrea," he said, reaching a hand out to brush a stray lock of hair out of her eye. "We should probably stop."_

_She smirked, before tugging on her blouse to straighten out the creases. "What if I don't want to?" she challenged him, a single eyebrow raised._

_Jay sighed. "You know, you play me hot and cold all the time. I never know what I'm going to get from you."_

_"In all honesty, I don't think that I could play cold right now if I wanted to." She shook her head, meeting his eyes with a smile. "Do you really think that I believed you when you invited me here just to watch a movie. Please, Jay, that's like code word for 'let's make out'. I may not have been born in Canada, but I have been here long enough to know what that means."_

_He chuckled at her wide-eyed innocent look. "I asked you here to watch a movie. That's all," he protested, laughing harder when she smirked at him. _

_"Don't try to insult my intelligence. You should know better than that by now."_

_"Fine. All right. I did have an...ulterior motive. God, you British people are too smart for me." He chuckled at her half-hearted shove. "But it's not what you think," the man continued quickly._

_Her brown eyes rolled. "Oh, please, you expect me to believe that all of this was just an elaborate ploy to get me to sit in your lap?" Her smile widened at the delicate flush that came to his face, as well as the slight shrug of his muscular shoulders. She slipped her hand under his lowered chin and brought it up so that their eyes met again. "Jason, stop blithering and kiss me already. Whatever happens...well, it happens," she finished lamely, only moments before his lips crashed back down onto hers._

He woke from his restless sleep slowly, his eyes opening to stare up at the ceiling. The blankets that had covered him were mostly on the floor, the cool air causing goosebumps to rise on his bare arms. No, that wasn't true, he told himself, groaning as he rolled over. It was the damned dream, or flashback, or whatever the hell he wanted to call it. He could feel the same emotions taking him over, the same ones that he had felt that night. The desire, the excitement...God, he needed to stop that.

Every time she was around, his sleep was filled with memories of the past, of things they had done together, of the better moments of their relationship. And he was sick of reliving the past. He knew it was going to happen when he had offered to fly them both out to New York to meet him, but he thought maybe this time, he would have been able to escape the memories.

His luck had never been that good to begin with, so why the hell did he think it was going to change this time.

* * *

"Morning, Andie," he said when she opened the door.

Her shoulders tensed automatically, straightening her back at the old nickname. He had been the only one to call her that, after a month of teasing her about her lack of a nickname. The last time he had called her that, it had been two months after Christina had been born. "Good morning, Jason," she said in return, allowing him to walk into the room.

He immediately went over to the little girl lying on the bed, still in the pajamas that her mother had put her in the night before. "Morning, munchkin," he said, before picking her up. She laughed and squealed. "What are you still doing here in your pajamas? Shouldn't you be dressed and ready for breakfast?"

"Cartoons are on," she said from where she was cradled in his arms. He shifted her weight so that she was thrown over his shoulder. "Daddy, put me down."

He swung her back around. "Only if you promise that you're going to get dressed. Hasn't anyone told you, breakfast is the most important meal of the entire day. If you never eat it, you're not going to grow anymore, and you don't want to be six forever."

"Six and a half," she pouted.

"All right, six and a half," he amended. He put her on the ground and lightly tapped her back end to get her moving. "Come on, you've got your choice between pancakes and waffles, but only if you're dressed in the next ten minutes. Otherwise, you're going to have to eat oatmeal." He laughed at her wrinkled nose and pout as she accepted the change of clothes from her mother and ran into the bathroom to get changed. "I see you haven't gotten her over her dislike of oatmeal."

Andrea shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ears. It curled forward still, the points brushing her cheeks. "She takes after you in that aspect," she said stiffly. Turning away from him, she busied herself with finding the container of hair ties and barrettes she had brought with her, smiling when the bathroom door opened, and her daughter walked out. "Did you brush your teeth and face your face?" she asked. When the girl nodded, she motioned for her to go back towards the bed, climbing in between her mother's legs, as her hair was brushed out and placed in a small ponytail, only using the front half of her hair, the rest of the rich blonde flowing down her back. "There, you're all ready to go."

"No, you're coming, too, Mommy," Christina said, eyes wide as she turned towards her father. "Right, Daddy? Mommy's coming for breakfast."

Andrea shook her head, forcing a smile. "We came here so you could spend time with your Dad. I'm with you all the time. You go for breakfast with him, Christie."

The little girl shook her head furiously, blonde hair whipping around her face. "No, I want you to come to." When she looked up at her father, there was a trace of tears in her blue eyes. "Please, Daddy. Tell her she has to come with us. I don't want her to be alone, and...and I never get to have breakfast with both of you, and I really want to. I really, really want to. Please."

Jay sighed, biting his lip when he saw the bottom lip that was sticking out, the single tear that rolled down his daughter's face. Oh, she knew how to get to him. It never worked with her mother, who would just let her sit there and cry until she was tired. But he couldn't. He knew he was being soft, but he didn't want to disappoint the little girl, especially after the warning that he had gotten from his ex-wife the night before. "I don't think it would be the end of the world," he said quietly. "It's only breakfast."

The woman rolled her eyes. "I don't eat breakfast, and you both know that."

"Then have coffee, or something. Come on, she's crying. It's not like having breakfast is going to kill either of us, and I'm sure that if Chris or Adam see us down there, they're going to join us." When she remained silent, he slowly raised his eyebrows and nodded at their daughter. "Andrea," he said softly.

She threw her hands in the air, laughing when her daughter turned around and hugged her fiercely around the waist. "Fine, I'll go. Just let me wash up and grab my purse." She stood up, disentangling herself from the little girl, before walking over to where Jay was standing. She lowered her voice so that only he could hear. "But this better be as civil as you promised, and one of those two better show up," she warned.


	5. Chapter Five

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for now. The language hasn't appeared, but it's only a matter of time.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One for your non-suing capabilities.

Author's Notes- Wow, that's the most reviews I've ever gotten in one shot for a new story. I'm glad you all are enjoying it. And now...enjoy and let me know what you think.

This is just an edited version of the chapter. For some reason, some commas and periods didn't show up, and I know it's not my keyboard. Whatever. Either way, this is the correct punctuation (things like that just piss me off).

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Five

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

Well, he figured that he had been half right. 

Adam and Chris had seen them in the hotel restaurant, but Adam had only grinned and stopped long enough to drop a kiss on the top of Christina's head before pulling Chris by the arm and going to their own table. Leaving him along with his daughter and his ex-wife. If he had the opportunity any time soon, he was going to kill them both.

He had heard Andrea's sigh as they walked away, before returning her attention to her cup of coffee. She was true to her word, not ordering breakfast. He understood the rationale behind it, knowing that whenever she did eat before eleven in the morning, she was bound to get stomach cramps that she used to say were only half as bad as going into labor and giving birth. Christina, on the other hand, was eagerly anticipating her waffles, as was Jay, since according to their daughter, they just had to eat the same thing.

The two adults had fallen into an uncomfortable silence, one that even Christina couldn't break. Finally, Jay spoke up, directing his question to his daughter. "So, you haven't told me yet, how are you doing in school."

She shrugged. "I don't like math. Gym class is fun. We did gymnastics before. Mrs. Scott said I have the best somersault she's ever seen."

Andrea chuckled. "And her reading comprehension is two or three grades above what it should be. They're thinking about moving her up a grade. They said that she's getting bored in her classes, because she knows all the work."

A frown settled on Jay's face, watching as his ex-wife sipped her coffee, her eyes scanning the restaurant. "You never mentioned that before."

Her eyes languidly went back to him, a single eyebrow arched delicately. "That would be because I'm responsible for her. You picked the school, but I'm the one that goes to the parent teacher meetings, and to her choir recitals. You left me to make the decisions, and I'll make my decision as to whether or not she goes up a grade or not."

"I don't like the idea of that. All of her friends are in her class. Can't her teacher just give her extra work."

"She already is." They remained glaring at each other, the look broken only when the waitress returned. Once the two had been served, and Andrea had refused anything again, she settled back in her seat. She remained quiet, watching Christina and Jay. Whenever he did see her, he was incredibly attentive to the little girl, tuning out the rest of the world. It almost broke her heart, watching him dip the corner of a linen napkin in his water glass to wash away the streaks of syrup on her face and hands. Christina always looked at him with such an adoring gaze, basking in the attention her father bestowed upon her. And it never lasted. He was an absentee parent at best.

She couldn't keep the smile off of her face, however, when Christina began chattering about her friend's upcoming birthday, which was to include a pool party and a barbecue. She started to tell him about everyone who had been invited, including the boys that she didn't like, before he interrupted her. "What kind of present are you getting her?" he asked.

Christina whirled around to look at her mother. "What are we getting for her? It has to be something good," she added, with wide eyes.

Jay nudged her, getting her to turn back to him. "How about...I take you back to the toy store, and you can pick out whatever you want for her." He saw the warning look on Andrea's face and quickly amended his last statement. "Within reason, of course. You have to be able to get it on the plane to fly home. If your mom says it's okay."

Her eyes were narrowed, lips pursed, as she nodded. "Fine. But nothing too expensive. I usually set a forty dollar limit for these things."

"But Mommy, she's my best friend. We should spend...a thousand dollars."

Jay smirked, looking across the table. "Oh, don't worry, Christie. If she's your best friend, she deserves the best." He paused, knowing that what he was going to say next was going to piss his ex-wife off to no end. "Your mom doesn't like the spend too much money, but your dad loves to. We'll get her whatever your little heart desires."

And Andrea could do nothing but seethe in her chair.

* * *

Their visit had ended the next day with one small, but explosive argument. Andrea hadn't won, of course, and because of that, both the suitcases and carry-on was full of all the little gifts that Jay had bought for his daughter. Once again, Chris had been the one to stop by and help them with their bags, teasing Christina about how he was going to hide her in his own luggage next time so that he could see her more often. It should have been something that her father said to her, not just a family friend, but Andrea smiled at the sentiment as they went down to the lobby. 

Jay had stopped by earlier that morning to collect the key card from her and he had just finished checking them out, putting the credit card receipt in his wallet before turning to look at his little girl. "Come here," he said, beckoning her over to him. He dropped down onto one knee and when she got close enough, gathered her up in his arms, feeling her soft little arms wrap around his neck. "Well, did you have fun? Was it worth missing three days of school?"

She nodded against him, before pulling back to give him a kiss. "I'm going to miss you, Daddy," she told him.

He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at her. "I'm going to miss you, too, but you know what? I'm going to stop by and see you next weekend."

Christina backed away from him, putting her hands on her hips in a stance that reminded him of Andrea. "Promise?" she asked.

"I promise. Now go say goodbye to Uncle Chris and Uncle Adam." He straightened up when his daughter ran off in their direction, catching the look that Andrea was giving him. He simply smiled in her direction, watching as she turned her back to him with a huff of impatience. He still knew how to get under her skin, and it was something that he prided himself on.

His attention was pulled away as he turned to watch his daughter saying goodbye to her "uncles". They each had a different approach. Chris had bent down to give her a gentle hug and a kiss on her round cheek. Adam, on the other hand, picked her up and started to swing her around, with her squealing loudly. He finally put her back down on the ground with a kiss and a ruffle of her long hair. Adam kept Christina's attention as Chris walked over to the woman, taking her hands and dipping his head to speak to her.

Jay narrowed his eyes as he watched the interaction between the two of them, his arms crossed against his chest. He knew that they were close friends, nothing more than that, but he would be lying if he said he didn't mind how close they were, physically. He didn't like the way he winked at her, he didn't like the way that he brushed the hair out of her face, and he certainly didn't like the way they smiled at each other...and where the hell were those thoughts coming from, anyway? She was his _ex_-wife. He had touched her for the first time in four years the other night, when he had grabbed ahold of her elbow, but he knew he would have felt better if it had been him touching Andrea like that, and not Chris. Because it would just get under her skin and piss her off. And he would tell himself that until he actually started to believe it.

He watched as the two finally broke apart with a final embrace, before Adam came back over to wrap his arm around her. "So, you're all ready to head out?" he asked loudly, looking down at the short woman.

She smiled up at him. "I'd say so. I can't wait to get back home. I have to work tomorrow, and Christie has to go back to school and catch up on everything she's missed" she added, looking down at her daughter. The only response she got was a pout. "It was nice to see you two again."

Adam lowered his voice, pushing her with his hip. "And it was nice to see Jay again, right?" He laughed when she stiffened against him, her eyes darkening. "I was just kidding. Come on, let's go get you in the taxi. It's waiting for you already." He nodded out the doors where the yellow car was waiting, trunk open. He released her and helped Chris with the bags, leaving Andrea only with her carry-on as Jay reached out for his daughter's hand, walking them outside.

They were all quiet as the bags were loaded into the back. Andrea turned on her heel suddenly and looked at Jay, all traces of a smile disappearing from her face. "I'll be expecting your call next weekend. Friday, right, Jason? Make the disappointment stretch out one more day?" she said quietly.

He smirked, holding open the back door as Christina climbed in. "Expect my visit. I'll be staying with you two, after all. I have three days off, and I promised my daughter that I would be there."

"I'll believe it when I actually see you standing outside the door," she fired back. Turning away from him, she looked at the other two men. "Have fun without me," she teased, before ducking into the car. Jay closed the door behind her and stepped away from the curb, before walking back into the hotel alone.

Adam grinned suddenly, nodding after his disappearing figure. "So, he's going to stay at their place, huh?" he asked rhetorically, chuckling to himself.

Chris narrowed his eyes as he looked over at the taller blonde. "Why does that amuse you so much? You know something that I don't. What is it."

He shrugged nonchalantly, heading towards the front doors of the hotel. "Well, when I was there two weeks ago, I found out that Christina got a new bed. One of those tiny daybed sort of things, which means that I couldn't stay in her room. I offered to take the air mattress instead, but we decided to have a little fun and use it like a trampoline. We popped that sucker but good."

"So, he can still stay on the couch."

His eyebrows raised, his grin turning somewhat more mischievious. "You mean that tiny little love seat that Andrea wouldn't even be able to sleep on? That only leaves him with two options. He can either get a hotel room, or sleep with Andrea. That's what I ended up having to do."

"Don't you think she would either get it patched, or buy a new one for when he comes."

"Nah, she doesn't believe he'll actually make it, and if I know Jay as well as I think I do, he'll be there, just to piss her off. I just wish I could be there to see the look on her face. And the look on his when he realizes where he'll have to sleep."


	6. Chapter Six

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. I swear, it's coming.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. I still have litigation immunity.

Author's Notes- **kandiland**- I actually had someone else ask me this through email (yes, Dame, I'm glaring at you right now for putting the damned idea in my head to begin with), and I was thinking of adding separate pairings for them, but the truth is, the way that I've written out the story, I don't know if it would fit. What I'm thinking is that there might be another story, focusing on one of them, and happening during the same timeline as this one. I'm not entirely sure yet, but you're more than welcome to email me with suggestions (I can't see email addresses on here for some reason). **Latisha C**- Wow, I'm impressed by the fact that you reviewed every chapter. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. Thanks for the kind words. Everyone, enjoy and let me know what you think.

Grr. For some reason, every time I upload the new chapters here, it keeps taking out the punctuation. So, if there are any punctuation mistakes, I'm sorry, I tried to catch them all.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Six

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

She barely heard the knock on the door. 

For the past week, the city had braved the bad weather that had seemed to roll in and didn't want to leave. Christina had been in somewhat of a bad mood, because the weather had cancelled all of her plans to go outside after school and play with her friends in the neighborhood, but her mother didn't want her braving the wind and constant rain only to return home feeling sick. Being cooped up in the apartment was only part of her bad mood, however. The other contributing factor were the thunder and lightning storms they had almost every night. Andrea thought that after living in Toronto for so long would have helped her daughter's fear of them...and her own, for that matter. They had both spent a few nights huddled in their beds, jumping at the sudden rumbles and flashes.

The sound of the knock was almost consumed by the latest rumble, but her daughter had heard enough to go running for the door. Andrea jumped up to her feet and followed behind her, skidding to a stop in her sock clad feet as Christina tried to reach the high lock on the door. "It's Daddy. He promised he would come," she cried, jumping in an attempt to reach the lock.

Andrea sighed. What was her daughter's reaction going to be when she opened the door, and it was someone trying to sell them a subscription to the Toronto Sun, or something similar, she wondered. She opened the security lock and turned the knob, not wanting to see the look of disappointment on her daughter's face whens he saw who it really was standing there. The door opened, and her eyes widened. His hair and jacket were both damp with raindrops, and his luggage looked like it had seen better days, but it was Jason Reso.

"Daddy!" Christina shouted, throwing herself at his legs. He chuckled as he regained his balance, raising his face to look at Andrea. "You came, you really came."

"Well, I wasn't going to disappoint my little munchkin," he said, although the words were directed at his ex-wife. He smiled and winked at her, choking back his laughter when she turned around.

"You might as well come in, then," she said over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen. He entered the large apartment, looking around as Christina began talking wildly about the past week at school and with her friends. He had never seen the inside of the apartment before, since the last time he had been in town to see his daughter, her mother had dropped her off at the hotel and picked her up at the end of the day. He listened to his daughter's ramblings as he looked around the place, not wanting to admit that he was impressed. The child support that he had deposited into Andrea's account, and her job as a secretary at a real estate office seemed to be enough, which was why he still couldn't understand that comment she had made back in New York, about not being able to afford to take time off of work. He reasoned that maybe it was because she didn't want to lose her job, because they seemed to be more comfortable financially than a lot of single mother's.

Christina's words broke into his thoughts. "So, you're really going to stay here all weekend? I mean, here, at home, right here?"

He grinned down at her, because shrugging off his damp jacket, going to throw it over one of the high backed chairs at the dining room table. "You bet. You've got me all weekend. I don't fly back until Monday morning," he told her. He loved the way that her face lit up at the words, but it only made him realize how right Andrea had been about disappointing her. He would never admit to something like that, no, never, but he knew that it was true.

"Come on, I want to show you my room. Mommy just bought me a new bed, because she said I got too big for the old one," she explained, taking his hand and tugging on it. He left his bags in the living room, hearing Andrea's disgruntled mumbling to herself, as he followed the girl down the hallway. She opened the door that had her name written on it in cursive script, reaching up to turn on the overhead light. "Isn't my bed just the coolest?" she asked, before bounding over to it and jumping on, upsetting the dozen or so stuffed animals piled on it.

"Just the coolest," he echoed dully, looking at it. At least he could fit somewhat on the old bed, if he had pulled his knees almost up to his chin, but there was no way that he was going to be able to fit on that. It was a day bed meant for a child her size, not someone like him. "When did she buy you that one?"

"About two months ago," a smug British voice answered from behind him. He turned around to see the smirk firmly planted on her face. "Christie, why don't you dig up last month's school status report for your father. I'm sure he'd love to know how well you're doing. They're in the bottom drawer of my night stand." She moved aside as her daughter ran out of her room and into her mother's. "Looks like you won't be staying here after all."

He nodded, looking at her. "You had this planned all along, didn't you?" he asked, not waiting for her answer. "Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but I am going to stay here. I promised Christie that I would. Besides, you have that old air mattress. That'll do."

She looked down at her hands and inspected the sheer pink polish on her nails. "Actually, I DID have it, but Adam and Christie popped it last time he was here. Something about a trampoline championship contest. Of course, you're always welcome to attempt the love seat. It's either that, the floor, or you have to stay someplace else."

"I screwed up my back earlier this week. I can't sleep on the floor," he complained.

Her shoulders moved in a languid shrug. "I've always heard that sleeping on the floor is supposed to be good on a person's back. But I gave you your choices. Love seat, floor, or hotel. Go ahead, Jason, pick one. I'm dying to know what your answer is going to be."

"But he promised that he was going to stay here. You promised, Daddy," Christina said suddenly. They both turned to see their daughter standing behind her mother, her little hands shaped into fists. "Why can't he stay with you, Mommy? Your bed is huge. There's lots of room, and then, when we get up in the morning, I'll have my mom AND my dad here. Oh, please, say that he can stay with you. Pretty please."

She brought a hand up to rake through her hair. "With sprinkles on top, I have no doubt."

Jay's smile turned into an evil grin as he realized what that would mean. "And a cherry and everything," he added sarcastically. He motioned for his daughter to come back into the room. "Your mom and I have something to talk about, so why don't you clean up your room, like I'm sure you were supposed to earlier," he added, casting a look at the clothes she had thrown in the corner. "And then I'm going to take a look at that report card, and you have me all to yourself for the rest of the night."

"Okay," she said softly, her eyes directed at the pink carpet. She raised her head and smiled slightly. "But it's called a status report, not a report card."

"All right," he said with a chuckle, before motioning with his head for Andrea to step out of the room. He closed the door behind them, before taking her firmly by the wrist and bringing her down the hallway. They passed an open door to the bathroom, before he opened another closed door. He turned on the light as they entered her bedroom. "What the hell are you doing, Andrea? You're the one that told me to stop breaking my promises to her, and now, you're trying to force me to do that."

She pulled her wrist out of his grasp, glaring at him. "Well, you should have asked me first," she spat back at him. "I can't believe you, Jason. You don't run my life, or Christie's. You don't make the decisions here, I do. This is my house."

"It's an apartment," he pointed out.

"Same damned difference," she hissed. "Where the hell do you get off, trying to force me into letting you stay here. Do you honestly think that I want you here? I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Christie needs her father, but I sure as hell don't need you telling me what to do. I'm fine with you seeing her, but I don't need you here, trying to force yourself into my life. I've been doing just fine without your guidance."

He was stunned momentarily by the anger in her eyes, and the flush that came to her face. He reached out and touched her forearm, just to stop her tirade for the moment. "Look, you asked for a truce in New York, I'm asking for a truce right now. I'm tired and I'm sore, Andie. I really did screw up my back. I landed wrong, and ended up with my lower back on the wrong end of a metal chair. My back is bruised, and I honestly couldn't take the couch or the floor tonight. I wouldn't ask you this if I wasn't in so much pain, but please. If not for me, then for Christie. I don't want to disappoint her anymore."

Slowly, the anger started to leave her, and for a moment, she almost felt guilty. Almost, but he didn't need to know about that, she reasoned. "Is it really that bad?"

His response was a wry chuckle as he turned around and lifted the back of his shirt. She winced when she saw the darkness marring his smooth skin. She had seen marks like that many times when they had been dating, and then when they were newlyweds, and she didn't think she would ever get used to them. She once had no problem dealing with the late nights, the bad pay...but the injuries never got easier to see. He lowered the back of his shirt and turned back to face her. "The flight over here almost killed me. I had to get up and walk around every now and then, because it would lock up. You know what my back is like." She nodded slowly. "Honestly, I'm sorry to put you in this position, but I don't want to risk making it worse than it already is."

"That's why you didn't pick her up when you got here, isn't it." He nodded. "I can't believe this. I really can't believe it, but I'm actually considering...all right, we'll call a truce. Again. And you can stay here. I'll sleep on the love seat."

"Even you wouldn't fit on that thing," he countered, shaking his head. "You stick to your side of the bed, I'll stick to mine. We're both adults. We slept next to each other for years, I'm sure that three nights aren't going to kill us."

"Sleeping next to each other usually meant me ending up draped all over you."

He shrugged, his smirk returning. "So, like I said, you stick to your side, and I'll stick to mine. And before you get any ideas, keep your hands to yourself, while you're at it."

To his surprise, she answered him with a soft laugh.


	7. Chapter Seven

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language

Disclaimer- See Chapter One.

Author's Notes- Again, the damned missing punctuation. I hit upload, and the punctuation goes into the same place as the missing socks from the dryer. Sorry for the inconvenience. Either way, enjoy (because I'm ready to pull my hair out, and it's so pretty) and let me know what you think. And if you're wondering about the sudden rush of updates...who needs sleep, anyway?

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Seven

_The largest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

It took a good hour to calm Christina down when it came to her bedtime. The thunder and lightning certainly didn't help, but Jay was more than up to the task. He had sat with her on the bed, reading a Harry Potter book with her in silence, letting her snuggle closer to him every time there was another loud boom, or the overhead lights flickered. After a half hour, her eyes began to droop, and towards the end of the hour, she couldn't keep them open much longer. He had taken the book from her hand and placed the bookmark between the pages, laying it on her bedside table. Leaning over, Jay kissed her forehead and then disentangled himself from her, shifting her so that her head was actually on the ruffled pillows. He left a small lamp on before leaving the room, and kept the door open just an inch so that they would be able to hear if she woke up in the middle of the night.

"She's asleep?" Andrea asked him when he entered the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water.

He pushed the long sleeves of his shirt up to above his elbows and nodded, lifting himself to sit on the counter. "Yeah, finally. I was beginning to think that she would never fall asleep. Besides, that one stuffed animal kept giving me the evil eye."

She chuckled, sipping her water. "The light pink teddy bear? Adam got that for her on her last birthday. It does look a little demonic, but what else would you expect from someone like him. She loves that thing to death, though. She calls it her bodyguard."

"That could scare off the worst nightmares. Or cause them," he added, shaking his head. "Will she sleep through the night? I mean, that thunder's getting pretty loud."

"Yes, she will. She always does." Pausing for a moment, Andrea turned to face him. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten what the storms are like out here. It's only been...what...five years since you lived out here. I know I won't ever forget them," she added with a shudder.

He smiled, the gesture tinged with remembrance. "Don't tell me that you still hide under the bed and call your mom whenever there's a storm. I'll never forget the first time you did that when you moved in. I heard your voice, but couldn't see you. It took me five minutes to figure out where you were, and when you did come out, you had that little bit of dust on the side of your face, and the phone was clenched in your hand so tight, your knuckles were turning white."

"I remember you laughing at me, until you saw how scared I was. And besides, one good thing happened because of that. You moved the bed and cleaned underneath it for once." She laughed at the mock frown on his face. "Oh, please, it was filthy under there, Jay. I'm surprised that those dust bunnies didn't mutate into something bigger."

His eyebrows raised somewhat. "What, mutant dust bunnies, like in _Dolores Claiborne_? I know that the horror movies scare you enough to keep the lights on when you go to bed, but I didn't think that your imagination was that vivid." He chuckled, shaking his head. "You know, you haven't called me that in years. You just called me Jay. You always call me Jason, just like you did whenever you were mad at me."

Automatically, it was like shutters came down over her eyes, hiding the laughter. The smile died off of her face, and she shrugged stiffly, turning away from him. "It was a mistake. Don't read into it."

"I just meant that, for five minutes, you and I actually managed to have an actual conversation. No fighting, no veiled insults...we were actually talking." His voice was subdued when he spoke next, and he couldn't help directing his eyes down to the kitchen floor, not wanting to see the look on her face when he spoke. "I've kind of missed it," he mumbled. He felt the sudden heat in his face and knew he was blushing, the same way he had when he had first asked her to marry him.

But he heard her sigh, and finally chanced a look at her. Andrea's back was still turned to him, but the tension had drained out of her shoulders and she had relaxed somewhat. "I know," she said softly, refusing to look at him. "I'm tired of being angry at you, just because I can. It's exhausting, and stressful...and you don't deserve it."

"No, I don't. And you don't deserve what I've done to you the past few years, either. It hasn't been fair to either of us, and it hasn't been fair to Christie, either." He took a deep breath, chest heaving with the effort. "I know you don't want to hear it, but there was a reason why I haven't been around her lately. I didn't set out to act like an absent father, but it was a lot easier than having to see you and knowing that we were going to fight again. I basically shut her out of my life just so that I could avoid a fight, but the times that I did come to see her, or you brought her to me, it was almost like I was asking for a fight. I really don't know what happened to us."

Andrea took a deep breath of her own, but hers was shaky, and she blinked her eyes furiously to try and remove the tears from them. "We grew apart, Jason...Jay. We were too young to marry, too young to start a family. My mother was right in that regard," she told him quietly. She spun around slowly, finally looking at him. She hadn't managed to get rid of the tears, and he saw them plain as day, shining in the overhead light. "We went about it too quickly. We would get to a certain point in our relationship, and we just jumped to the next level, whether we should have or not. I was in love. I couldn't imagine my life without you, but...things changed."

"And now?" he asked. He cringed after he spoke, unsure of whether he wanted the answer or not.

"Now...I like this Jay, the one that can talk to me. I don't like you when you fight with me. It's like there's two different sides to you. This is the good side, but there's an angry, bitter side to you, too. I don't like that side of you." She laughed bitterly, tossing her head to remove the hair from her eyes. "But you could say the same about me. I have my good side, and I have my awful side. I don't like my awful side all that much, so I can't imagine that you do, either."

He hesitated for a moment, but the tears that escaped her eye and trailed down her cheek was what motivated him to take the three large steps towards her, gently wrapping his arms around her. She stiffened for a second, before she relaxed and laid her head against his chest. She could feel the strong beat of his heart beneath her cheek, and her eyes slid shut as she willed herself not to cry anymore.

They fit together, just like they had used to. Her body automatically molded against his, his chin resting on the top of her head as he ran a hand over her shorter hair. It had been halfway down her back the time that he had met her, and it had remained the same length until their divorce. She changed her hair soon after the divorce had become final, but he still wasn't used to it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry, Andie," he whispered, tightening his hold on her. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

She simply sniffled, burrowing her head against him. He rocked her gently from side to side, ignoring the twinge in his back as he did so. She choked back a sob, refusing to give in completely to the tears. Jay continued to murmur to her, sometimes actual words, sometimes just comforting sounds. He held her against him even after she had calmed down, sighing in embarassment to herself. He smiled slightly and bent his head so that his mouth was near her ear. "Want to dance?" he asked her.

Andrea laughed with him, pulling away. He raised his hand and began to wipe away the traces of tears that lingered on her face. "You always asked me that afterwards," she said, a smile curving her lips.

"And you never took me up on the offer," he countered, before his smile disappeared. The look in his eyes grew hopeful, however. "What do you say, Andie. Give up the pretenses, give up the fights...try to be friends again."

"Friends," she repeated. "I could deal with that."

* * *

She came back from changing in the bathroom and left her clothes in a heap on a nearby chair, lifting the covers on her side of the bed before slipping into it. Jay wasn't asleep yet, she could tell that by the sound of his breathing, and the restless move he made when she settled herself against her pillow. They kept their back towards each other, Andrea staring at the glowing numbers of the alarm clock. She raised her head suddenly when both the hallway light that seeped under the closed door and the numbers on the alarm clock went out. She swallowed thickly, fisting her hands in the blankets, not wanting to give into her fear.

The sound of the blankets shifting met her ears the same time that another flash of lightning lit up the room. She almost jumped when she felt the warm body behind her, the arm that looped itself around her waist. "Jay, what are you doing?" she whispered, stopping herself when her hand started to go down and cover his.

He shushed her. "Just go with it, Andie," he said sleepily from behind her.

"The power went out," she told him.

"I know. Just close your eyes and go to sleep."

He kept his hold on her loose, waiting patiently until the next loud thunderclap sounded. She jumped, making him move his face away from the back of her head just in time before it connected with his nose, and spun around in his hold, hiding her face against him. He chuckled deep in his throat and tightened his arm around her, feeling her shake. "You think this is funny, don't you?" she asked him, the words becoming a mumble against his chest. His bare chest. "You're not wearing a shirt."

"And you're surprised? How often did I wear a shirt when I went to bed?"

Her response was quiet. "Only when you took me camping, and that's only because it was so cold that night. I always thought that you took me at that time of year because you could share my sleeping bag with me."

"It was a tight fit, but it was worth it. Even though you had those bits of twig and leaf in your hair." He heard her derisive snort and laughed. "I know, I know. It was my fault. I was the one that pulled you down to the ground, but you looked so adorable in that pile of leaves." Unwinding one arm from around her, he pushed the hair back from her face gently, looking down into the darkness where he knew her face was. "Are you going to be okay now?"

She nodded as he released her, both of them returning to their original places in the bed. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you."

He turned again so that she was facing his back. "Not a problem, Andie."


	8. Chapter Eight

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. The language has arrived.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One.

Author's Notes- One more time...I swear...one more time of the punctuation disappearing, and I'm going to go curb stompin' on fanfictiondotnet's collective asses. Dame, girl, tell me I didn't just date myself with that comment. One more time, I'm back with the italics in a flashback. Sorry about the strain on the eyes, people. And **kandiland**, another little message for you- you seem to read my mind, at least with one pairing (and I won't tell you which one, either). If I do end up writing those stories, they won't be posted until AFTER this one is done, because I don't want to give away the ending to this one. **ohmystars**- You're an absolute sweetheart for saying that. I hope I can keep you interested throughout to the end. Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Eight

_The largest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

_"I can't believe this," he muttered to himself angrily, shoving a tee shirt into his bag. He turned to look at Andrea, laying on her back across the bed, her hands resting on her swollen stomach. "I'm so sorry about this, Andie. I tried to get out of it, but...this guy's just an asshole."_

_She giggled softly and turned her head towards him, her eyes sparkling. "Stop worrying about it. I'll be fine. Besides, you know just as well as I do that my due date isn't until next week. Two nights away from me isn't going to make this baby come any faster than if you were here." She raised her hands to him, and he stepped around the bed, wrapping his hands around her wrist as he helped her sit up. She made a face and rubbed her lower back. "Just be careful driving. It's storming out there again."_

_"I'll be fine. It's just...fucking Montreal. Why couldn't it have been something closer?" he complained, dropping her hands. "Seven hours, to get there. Seven hours to get back, if there's no traffic. Fourteen fucking hours, and you're almost ready to go into labor. This isn't how I thought it would go."_

_A smile curved her lips. "I see we're going to have to work on that cursing thing before the baby's born," she teased him. "I'm going to be fine."_

_"I don't want you here alone. Especially if it isn't going to storm. You're too big to fit under the bed now."_

_Andrea laughed, shaking her head. "I won't be alone. I called Adam, but he's out of town, so I called Chris, instead. He'll stay here with me while you're gone. He said that the couch is big enough for him, and he can stand it for two days. That way, if anything does happen, which it won't, then you won't have to worry about me."_

_"When did you get so smart?" he grumbled, before bending down to kiss her. "You're beautiful, you know that?"_

_She wrinkled her nose as she looked up at him, tugging the ends of his long blond hair to bring him back down to kiss her again. "That came out of nowhere."_

_He remained bent over her, his hands on either side of her hips. "It's true. You are, you know. Beautiful, I mean."_

_"I'm wearing a pair of maternity sweat pants, and a tee shirt big enough for Shamoo. I haven't washed my hair, I haven't worn make-up for the past two months, and I'm not even sure if I have feet anymore. If I do, they have to be swollen to about the same size as yours. If you think that's beautiful, I can't wait until I lose all the weight and go back to my usual clothes." She laughed, reaching a hand up to tuck his hanging hair behind his ear. "I don't know how I look, because I've avoided the mirror for the past two weeks, but I certainly feel fat. I'll never forgive you for this."_

_Jay chuckled, kissing her a final time. "Yeah, yeah. I've heard that one a million times by now," he told her, before straightening up. "You're all right, though, right?" he asked, before going back to finish backing his bag. _

_She sighed, shifting to find a more comfortable position. "Yes. No more late night contractions, nothing like that. Just this insane urge to pee every five seconds, that's all." Her shoulders moved in a shrug. "Besides, it won't be that much longer. And you'd better go down and let Chris in. He's going to get impatient if he has to wait out there in the rain much longer. If you can't leave me alone for five minutes, I don't know how you're going to survive two days."_

_"I don't either."_

She slowly fought her way out of the dream, groaning to herself when she opened her eyes. The alarm clock was blinking at her, bringing her back to reality. Andrea yawned and tried to bring a hand up to rub her eyes, but found that she couldn't move it. A sleepy frown settled on her face as she took in her surroundings. It was her room, the power was back on...and that was an awfully warm body next to her. Her eyes widened in shock, before she relaxed, realizing who it was behind her.

Somehow, in the middle of the night, Jay had rolled over, wrapping his arm around her, his hand over hers, which explained why she hadn't been able to bring it up to her face. She could feel his breath against the back of her neck, the tip of his nose resting on her skin. "Well, this is interesting," she mumbled to herself, moving her free hand down to remove his arm from around her. As soon as she touched him, however, his arm tightened, pulling her even closer to him.

"Don't move," he said softly from behind her. It took all of her willpower not to shiver when she heard his sleepy voice. He had always sounded like a pouting little boy whenever he first woke up. "I don't want to get up yet."

"Whether you want to or not, I have to wake up Christie. I don't even know what time it is."

"Let her sleep. She went to bed late, anyway," he said. "Little girls need their sleep."

"Little girls need their breakfast, too," she countered, before sighing. "What are we doing?"

She heard him chuckle, before yawning, the warm rush of breath against her skin making her close her eyes and pray that she would be able to get through the morning without doing something that she would regret. And to be perfectly frank, she didn't know whether she wanted to hit him for taking liberties with her like this...or something more drastic. "I don't know about you, but I'm trying to enjoy my morning by spending it in bed." He felt her relax for a moment before she stiffened yet again. "Uh oh," he added.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the alarm clock. "We're divorced, Jay. We're not playing house anymore. This is..." She trailed off, unsure of how to finish her sentence.

He released her, watching as she turned onto her side to face him. "This is what, Andie? Wrong? You let me hold you last night. Why should it make a difference now that it's morning." All traces of sleep left his eyes, and they turned a darker blue with his anger. "I don't understand what the problem is. You sure as hell weren't trying to get away from me last night."

"I was scared out of my mind. You know I get that way when it's stormy like that. Of course I let you hold me. I've let Adam hold me when it's like that, I've let Chris hold me. I would let the Devil himself hold me when I get scared like that."

Jay swallowed back the bitter taste of jealousy that flooded his mouth, and shook his head. "Is that how you see me now, or something?"

"No, it's just..." Her tone softened, and she looked down at her hands, picking at an invisible piece of lint on the top blanket. "I don't know how I see you anymore. It's...things have changed so much in the past two weeks, and I still haven't caught up to everything. I'm sorry, but you're confusing me. You used to accuse me of playing hot and cold with you, and now, you're doing the exact same thing to me, whether you mean to or not. I don't know what you want from me anymore. A sparring partner, a friend...what the hell do you want from me?" she asked, turning her eyes to his.

She saw the exact same emotions written on his face that she was feeling. The confusion, the reluctance, and even fear. Most apparent was the sympathy he felt when he saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes. "Andie," he whispered, watching as she blinked her eyes furiously to get rid of them. Unlike the night before, it worked. "Close your eyes."

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"Just trust me. Close your eyes." He waited until she had and then reached out, taking hold of one of her hands. "Do you know what I want? I want the Andie that I used to know. The one that I fell in love with. The Andie wouldn't take no for an answer. The one that used to laugh so hard at the movies that she would snort." He saw the smile on her face when he spoke. "I want the Andie that always smiled, even when things got rough. I want to be able to look at you without you scowling at me, to be able to touch you without you shying away or thinking that there was some sort of ulterior motive." He brushed his thumb across the skin of her hand, feeling her tighten her fingers around his. "I kept looking for her every time I saw you, I listened for her every time I talked to you. And this is the first time in years that I've seen that Andie. I don't want that to go away. I don't want you to go away." He had no idea what was going through his head when he looked down at her serene expression, and he probably never would. But he still lowered his face until it was hovering just above hers, his other hand coming up to stroke the soft skin of her cheek. "Now, open your eyes." He smiled tenderly when she did. "And I'm beginning to think that it's you that I want again, after all this time. You always have an answer to everything. What's your answer now?"

Her eyes raced over his face, trying to take all of it in all at once. His now short hair was tousled, some of it standing on end, some flattened against his head. His blue eyes were clear, shining down at her. There was blond stubble on his chin, peppering his skin. And then her eyes went back to his lips, pink and inviting, moist from the fact that he had only recently run his tongue along them.

And her answer was to raise herself up and press her lips against his.


	9. Chapter Nine

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. 'Cause cursing is like a second language to me, and I'm fluent in it.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. It'll change your life.

Author's Notes- Sorry about not posting as many chapters today as before. I'm STILL not thrilled with this disappearing punctuation, so I've spent most of my day grumbling, "Gonna get them. I swear to God, I'm gonna get them." It's like a bad horror movie over here today. And I've noticed that there's an awful lot of crying done in the past few chapters. I swear, I'm trying to cut down on it. Everyone, enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Nine

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

It was almost like the touch of her lips against his stole the breath from him.

It only lasted a moment, and he inhaled sharply, dipping his head to apply more pressure to the kiss. It was almost like he was being transported back to their first kiss, what with the nervousness that coursed throughout his body. Only this time, he hadn't had his hands in his jean's pockets before giving into the temptation. He shifted closer to her, the hand that had been stroking her face going up to her hair. His fingers slipped through the strands, the same time that he felt her arm slide around his shoulder, hand resting lightly on the back of his neck.

She couldn't stop the soft whimper that came from her throat when he began to move away from her. She pulled him back to her, her fingers playing with the short hair at the back of his head. Jay surrendered to her, his hands skimming down her bare arms before resting them on her hips, his fingers plunging under the tank top she was wearing, resting on the warm skin of her stomach. She was softer than the last time he had touched her in that area, given the fact that she had never lost all of the weight she had gained during her pregnancy. There were more curves to her now, she wasn't the stick-thin young woman that he had first fallen in love with.

She tightened her hold on him when she felt his still familiar lips part somewhat, the tip of his tongue tentatively tracing her bottom lip. Slowly, his hand went further under her shirt, his hand resting comfortably on her rib cage for a moment, fingers spread across her skin. It took him a moment to realize just where his hand was, and he broke the kiss, burying his face against her neck. "We can't do this," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"That's funny, because I could have sworn that we were just doing that," she told him dryly, watching as he pushed himself up from where he was draped on her, falling down heavily at her side.

"This is what happened last time, and look how it ended up for us. We could barely look at each other. I don't want us to end up like that again." He forced a weak smile. "If this is going to happen at all, we have to take it slow. Slower than last time."

She pushed the blankets off of her and slid out of bed, reaching for her robe. Typing it tightly around her waist, she looked over her shoulder at him. "This never should have happened at all, and I'm sorry that I started it," she told him. "We agreed to be friends last night, but that was crossing the line. It'll never happen again."

Jay had propped himself up on his elbows when she had been speaking to him, but now he allowed himself to fall, slamming his head back into the pillow. "Here we go again, with the hot and cold. God damn it, Andie, would you just make up your mind. Here and now, make up your mind. I'm not playing your games anymore."

"My games?" she asked, with a bitter laugh. "Would you listen to yourself for once, Jason. Oh, you used all of your little tricks last night, didn't you. From the truce, to the 'let's be friends' plea, and all the way to that supposed heartfelt speech this morning. I admit it, I'm the one that kissed you, not the other way around, but like I said, it never should have happened. And I won't allow it to happen ever again. I'm sick of the way you play me, the way you play my emotions against me, and I'm not taking it anymore. I'm done, Jason. You've had your fun."

He repeated her earlier movements, getting out of the bed himself, and reaching for a tee shirt, pulling it over his head. "You think that's what I'm doing? Playing games? Open your fucking eyes, sweetheart, because this isn't a game. It's ridiculous, but it sure as hell isn't a game to me. You seem to think so, what with stringing Chris Irvine along-"

"Chris? Why would you bring him into this? He has nothing to do with this." Her eyes wide, she spun on her heel to face him. "Oh, God, you can't be serious. Damn it, Jason, what the hell is your problem? This isn't the first time that you've mentioned him when we've fought, and I'll tell you the same thing I've told you all those other times...there is nothing happening between Chris and me. There never has been anything, and there never will be. He's my friend, which is more than I can say about you."

"You named our daughter after him."

"Because he was there when you should have been. HE was the one that drove me to the hospital. HE was the one that came in the delivery room with me. HE was the one that held my hand. You were off in Quebec somewhere, doing a show for a hundred dollars, when you should have said no."

His blue eyes went towards the ceiling, trying to calm himself down before he spoke again. "You were the one that told me to go and do the damned show. You told me that I had made the commitment, and I shouldn't refuse. You were there when I packed my bag. All you told me was to drive safely. I didn't see you down on your knees, begging me not to go."

"I couldn't have gotten onto my knees if I had wanted to," she exclaimed. "And I would never beg to you for anything. Ever."

"Maybe that's your problem. I always thought that you were just an icy bitch, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe you just can't stand not being in control of everything in your life. Look at the way you control Christie. I can't wait for the day that she rebels against you, just so that you can have a taste of your own medicine."

An indignant squeak came from her throat, before she forced her hands down by her side, clenched into fists so tight she could feel her nails digging into her skin. "How dare you? How dare you say something like that to me. You have no right, absolutely no right, since the day that you turned your back on Christie, and on me. I'll never forgive you for that."

"Guess I was wrong. You are just a bitch."

She crossed the room in four steps, raising her face to see his, before her hand lashed out, connecting with the side of his face. His head rocked to the side with the blow. "You son of a bitch," she growled.

He slowly brought his head back up, raising a hand to rub at the stinging area. "I deserved that," he admitted, meeting her eyes. She took a step back in shock, wanting to tear her gaze away from him, but not able to. "I did. You were right to hit me. I deserved that, and I deserve a hell of a lot more. How do you do this to me?" he asked her, shaking his head. His eyes narrowed, brow furrowed as he stared at her. "Sometimes, you make me so mad that I just want to forget that I could have ever fallen in love with you, but most of the time, it only reminds me why I did fall in love with you. Because of that fire in your eyes. I know it's because you're angry with me, but now I understand, you'll always look at me that way. And I deserve every little bit of it."

Andrea stood there, chest heaving as she gasped for air, glaring at him. She couldn't believe the intensity of the anger running through her body, but even in her irate state, she recognized the fact that it wasn't hatred, and it never would be. But she softened the moment she saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. "Jason," she said softly, letting her hands unclench. She could only remember one other time that she had seen him cry, and it was something that she never wanted to see again. It had frightened her, when she had sat with her back against the headboard, and he had laid with his head in her lap, clutching onto her legs, sobbing himself to sleep the day his mother had died. The finger and palm shaped bruises had remained on her thighs for a week. That vacant look in his reddened eyes, his body shaking with each sob, his struggle to breathe was enough to still give her nightmares, even years after it had happened. "Please, Jay," she pleaded.

He shook his head as the first tears made its way down his cheek. "I never deserved you. But please, Andie, don't give up on me. Not yet. Please." She took that step close to him again, and slowly brought her arms up around him, closing her eyes as his head fell down onto her shoulder. His hands clenched the material of her robe in the back, his body shaking with the effort of holding back his tears. Her hand moved along his back in a comforting gesture as he breathed deeply, his eyes closing.

A rustle sounded from the other bedroom, followed by a soft yawn. Jay pulled away from her and ducked his head as he wiped at the wetness on his face. "Christina's awake," he told her softly, clearing his throat.

"I should..." She bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked him, reaching a hand out to rest on his upper arm.

He nodded, refusing to look at her. It was the first time in a long while that he wished he still had his longer hair, if only to hide his face from her. Short hair wasn't always better. "Yeah, I'm fine. You go ahead, get Christie's breakfast ready. I'll go take a shower."

"All right." Still she didn't move. "I'm sorry, Jason, but my answer still hasn't changed. I just don't think that this is good, for any of us. We have to think of Christie, too, and with what happened this morning...I don't want to put her through something like that."

"I understand. I just wish I could change your mind," he whispered, directing his words to the ground.

She let her hand trail off of his arm, turning away and heading for the door. "We'll figure something out, one of these days. Maybe not today, but eventually."

And she left him standing alone.


	10. Chapter Ten

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. I warned you...

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. Loved by many.

Author's Notes- **Latisha C**- Square one and a half? I never actually thought of it like that before, but it fits. I'm a firm believer in the fact that it always gets worse before it gets better. Everyone, there aren't all that many chapters left (I don't usually write thirty chapter stories, so I hope you weren't expecting that). Also, my only knowledge of Toronto is from going there for two weeks, two years in a row. Aside from EdgeFest at Molson Park, the name of the airport, and the location of a hospital, I don't know much, so I'm basically pulling this out of my ass. And sorry for not posting yet today, I spent most of my day with my grandma, and the rest of the weekend, I'll be working. I'm hoping to finish the story before Monday, though. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Ten

_The largest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

Jay was subdued for the rest of the visit, only smiling whenever Christina looked over at him. He had barely spoken to Andrea for the time he was there until early Monday morning, and whatever conversation they had was quiet, and strained at best. They had remained sleeping side by side, and if either of them ever woke up in the middle of the night, finding themselves reaching out for the other, they would simply turn around and hope to hell that nothing happened between then and the time that they actually got up.She ignored his red eyes and sorrowful looks as best she could, but she was more than pleased when the alarm clock went off early Monday, waking her first.

She laid there for a moment, blinking sleepily at the ceiling before reaching out blindly, her hand resting on his warm, muscular shoulder for a moment. "Jason," she said quietly, listening as he slowly woke himself. She removed her hand and yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm up. Thanks," he mumbled, before swinging his feet around and standing up. "Did you start coffee?"

"It has a timer. It should be ready by now."

She watched as he walked out of the room, before falling back against her pillow, listening to the muffled sounds of him making his way around the still unfamiliar kitchen. It was nice to hear someone else in the apartment, but she still wasn't too sure that it was Jay she wanted to hear. Regardless, Andrea couldn't help smiling to herself whens he heard his muffled curses, before he reappeared in the bedroom, holding two mugs in his hand. He handed her one, a trace of a smile on his face. "Milk and about ten granules of sugar," he told her, before walking around to the opposite side of the bed, sitting down heavily.

"You still takes yours with a teaspoon of sugar, I imagine," she said softly, looking over to see his smile widen. "I'll never forget that. It only took me two months to get it right."

His smile widened a bit, looking down at the comforter. He traced one of the flowers printed on it with a single finger. "Yeah, and that was some pretty bad coffee in the meantime. You...uh...you're working today?" he finally asked, scratching the back of his head as he sipped his coffee.

She readjusted her pillows behind her, nodding. "And Christie has school. I really wish you were staying for another day, because she's going to have to go to a friend's house until I can pick her up. She's not going to be too happy today, what with you leaving and me having to work late, but it's what happens every Monday."

"Except for the 'me' part," he added. "I didn't think that she would take it so bad when I had to go. And I would call her tonight, but by the time I get back from the show, it'll be around eleven o'clock, and that's a little too late. You'll probably be in bed by then. I wouldn't want to wake you up."

Andrea nodded, looking down into her coffee mug. "I'm sorry I can't drive you to the airport, but I'd never get back in time to take her to school. Our Mondays are usually busy."

"It's all right," he assured her. "Besides, I feel better taking a taxi. I remember how you drive. Don't forget, I was the one that taught you how to drive in Canada."

She waved a hand. "Please, it wasn't that difficult. My only problem was that you insisted that I learn how to drive a standard, and your car was as bad as they came. I'm surprised it started up every morning. And it always smelled like tuna."

He grinned suddenly, chuckling to himself. "Yeah, that's what happens when you're working the fifty dollar a day independent shows. Bad cars, bad food, and really bad money. But I'm sure that you don't complain about driving down the wrong side of the road anymore." After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he stood. "I guess I better get around to picking up all my stuff. Say goodbye to Christie. I'll call on Tuesday, if that's all right?"

"That's fine," she told him. "She'll look forward to your call."

"I know."

* * *

He rubbed his damp hair with the towel, looking down at his bag curiously as it emitted a ring. "It's been doing that all night. I would have answered it, but..." Chris Irvine said, before shrugging. He sat down on the bench to tighten the laces on his running shoes.

Jay dug through his bag until he found his cell phone, looking at the out of area number on the caller identification screen. He recognized it to be an Ontario number, but not one of Andrea's numbers. "Hello?" he asked, covering his over ear with his hand, trying to block out the noise of the busy locker room. "Andrea's emergency contact...uh, yeah, that's me. I'm her...husband," he added, shrugging at the strange look that Chris shot him. "What...Mt. Sinai Hospital? Why would she be there?" His face had been reddened from the steam in the shower room, but it quickly faded away. "Is my daughter there, too? Her name's Christina Reso. Blonde, six years old, small for her age."

"What happened?" Chris asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them.

The shorter haired man simply raised a finger, quieting him for the moment. "Thank you. Yeah, I can be there before morning. Around...three in the morning or so. I have to drive from out of town." He didn't bother explaining that he was in a state rather than a province, or even that he was in another country. "Tell Andie that I'm on my way. Thanks."

He turned off the phone and grabbed his jacket, pulling it on hastily, not bothering to fix the collar that stood up. The phone went into his pocket as he continued to throw his things into his bag, sitting down heavily to pull on his sneakers. "What's going on?" Chris asked again.

"Andie's in the hospital. A car accident. They said that it wasn't serious, but they wanted her to stay overnight for observation. Christie's not there, so she's probably still at her friend's house. She was probably going to pick her up."

The other man swore softly under his breath. "Are you okay to go alone? If you want, I can come with you. Or you could wait for Adam. His match is should be over in about five minutes." He saw the look Jay gave him and sighed. "I just don't think that you should be driving, that's all. It won't do Andrea any good if you end up in an accident, too."

"I'm fine, I...shit," he said, reaching back into his pocket for the ringing phone. Another out of area number, another number from Toronto. "Yeah?" he asked tiredly, expecting to hear either his daughter's voice or the mother of whatever friend she was staying with. Instead, he leaned back against the wall, and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes, I'm Jason Reso. Yes, Christina is my daughter. Can you just tell me what happened to her?" He nodded a few times, before thanking the other person and hanging up.

"Not Christie, too."

"Fractured wrist. She was in the accident, too. God damn it," he said loudly, attracting a few stares as he stood up and reached for his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. "They took her to the emergency room at the Hospital for Sick Children. At least they're just across the street from each other. They're waiting for someone to come and pick her up, because she doesn't need to stay overnight, but they can't get in contact with her mother, and I don't know the number for any of her friends. Look, just make some excuse for me at the post-production meeting. Family emergency or something."

He nodded. "Sure. Are you off for the rest of the week?" When Jay nodded, he sighed. "Just call me and let me know how they're doing, all right? Go ahead, go. I'll let Adam know."

"Thanks." He let himself out of the locker room and walked quickly down the corridor towards the parking garage, keeping his eyes forward. He bumped into the occasional person, but didn't stop to apologize before going past them, pushing open the door that would let him outside. He shivered lightly at the cool air, before jogging over to his rental car. He thanked God that he was traveling alone that week, that he wouldn't have to explain why he left someone behind. He unlocked the trunk and threw his bag in, slamming it back down. It echoed through the concrete structure as he unlocked the driver's side door and slid in, starting the engine immediately.

The heater came on full blast, as did the stereo. He turned the latter off and pulled his seatbelt over his shoulder, snapping it into place. Jay looked over his shoulder briefly before he put the car in reverse, his foot pressing down the gas pedal harder than he needed to. He swung the wheel around, listening to the squeal of the tires, before heading for the exit a lot faster than he normally would have.

His mind was racing as he automatically slowed down to just above the speed limit, stopping impatiently for a red light. As soon as it changed, he turned the corner and started towards the road highway that would lead him out of town, until he could connect to a road that led to the Canada-United States border. He didn't want to think of Christina, alone in that busy hospital, not able to see her mother. She was probably scared out of her wits, what with the shock of the accident and then being surrounded by so many unfamiliar people. And Andrea might know where Christina was, but he couldn't be sure of that.

Chris had been right, he told himself. He probably shouldn't have been driving, but damn it, it was his little girl and Andrea. They needed him.

And he needed to see them.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language, although I think that may be over with.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. It's on its way to becoming a classic (well, a classic piece of something, anyway).

Author's Notes- Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Eleven

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

His eyes went towards the Tim Horton's counter, wondering if he should grab a cup of coffee before he left to go to the other hospital, shaking his head as he walked by. He made his way through the hospital until he found the nurses desk at the emergency ward, walking up to it immediately. "My daughter, Christina Reso, was brought in here earlier tonight. She was in a car accident." 

"Just a moment," a nurse told him, before looking over her shoulder at a large dry erase board. "I can take you to see her, but she is asleep. Your daughter was pretty shaken up," she said in a low tone, showing him towards one of the trauma rooms. "She was crying pretty hard when they brought her in, and originally, they wanted to sedate her, but she fell asleep soon after that. She still hasn't woken up."

"She won't. Wake up, that is. Once she's asleep, it's for good," he answered, as the nurse opened the door for him, gesturing to the small girl curled up on the large stretcher. "I'll go and get the doctor for you, so that you can sign the paperwork and get her home. It'll only be a moment."

He nodded. "Thank you." He waited until she closed the door, before sitting down on the edge of the bed, tentatively reaching a hand out to stroke down her shining blonde hair. She moved towards him, still asleep, a small sigh escaping her lips. There were still tear tracks on her face, staining her cheeks, and it looked as if she had been biting her bottom lip, judging by the lump that he figured out match up with one of her front teeth. He moved his hand down to the light pink cast on her wrist, wincing when he saw the size of it. It was so tiny, just like the rest of her.

Jay turned when he heard the door open, the doctor walking in. He listened to her instructions and signed the forms they showed him, taking the piece of paper for her next set of x-rays in a few days. Thanking them, he gathered his daughter in his arms, resting her head against his shoulder before kissing her temple, walking out of the emergency ward slowly. He passed the closed Shopper's Drug Mart, the closed Burger King, passing by the Tim Horton's counter without a second glance. He could always make a pot of coffee when they got back to Andrea's apartment, he reasoned as he walked out onto the street exit, heading towards Mt. Sinai Hospital.

The same routine occurred, and soon he found himself being led to the trauma room that Andrea was being kept in, since they didn't have a bed available for her. He entered quietly, not wanting to disturb the other two patients as he walked over to the last bed, settling Christina in the chair. She made a small fussing sound at the loss of her warm pillow, but calmed down almost immediately, curling back into a ball. Jay leaned over, and placed a kiss on his ex-wife's forehead, wincing when he saw the bruise that was mostly hidden under her hair.

She woke slowly, blinking her eyes to get them focused. "Jay?" she asked, before clearing her throat.

"Yeah, it's me," he told her, perching on the side of the bed, taking her hand. "Go back to sleep, Andie. I just stopped by to get the apartment keys."

"They told me Christie broke her arm," she murmured, her eyes cloudy with sleep, and what he figured were the lasting effects of pain medication.

He nodded. "She has a fractured wrist, but she's okay. She's right here," he said, looking over at the chair he had placed her in. Andrea's eyes went in the same direction. "We'll come back in the morning. I didn't mean to wake you. Everything's okay. Just get some sleep. You're going to need it."

Her eyes were almost shut when she answered him. "Okay," she whispered. He sat there for a moment, watching her sleep, before raising her hand to kiss the back of it. He lowered her hand until it went back down to the blankets, getting up to go through the drawer the nurse had assured him the keys were in. He found them quickly, and shoved them in his jacket pocket, before picking up Christina again. She settled in his arms, sighing to herself as they left.

* * *

Jay laid awake for most of the morning, catching only a few minutes of fitful sleep at a time. He had put Christina in bed with him, in Andrea's room, after changing her out of her school uniform and into a tee shirt of his that turned into a nightgown for her. She hadn't moved since he had laid down next to her, occasionally reaching out to stroke her long hair, moving it so that he could see her face. He heard the coffee maker click on, and had chanced a trip to the bathroom and then to pour himself a mug of coffee, not wanting Christina to wake up without him being there. 

He settled himself back in bed and closed his eyes, rubbing them tiredly. There was no doubt that it was going to be a slow day for them after he brought Andrea back from the hospital. Andrea would most likely sleep the day away, as would Christina. He was planning on catching a nap or two throughout the day himself, in between taking care of the two of them. It wasn't what he had had in mind for his time off, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

After sipping the hot coffee, he looked down at see Christina roll onto her back before her eyes opened slowly, taking in her surroundings. "Good morning, munchkin," he said softly, reaching over to put his mug on the night stand. "How are you feeling?"

She sat up and automatically brought her hands up to grind the sleep out of her eyes. He gently held down the wrist with the cast, as she yawned. "Daddy? When did you come here?"

"Late last night. I drove from work." He didn't bother mentioning that he had driven for four hours straight with his hands clenching the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "How does your wrist feel?"

"It hurts," she said, looking around the room, missing the look on his face. He didn't like the idea of his little girl being in pain. "Where's Mommy?"

He was quiet for a moment, wondering how to go about answering her question. Honesty was always the best approach, he figured. "Well, she's still at the hospital. Her doctor wanted her to stay overnight, because she got a little knock on the head, and because she was so tired. You came with me last night to go see her, but you were asleep. She's supposed to come home today, though. We're going to go see her soon."

Her eyes were downcast when she spoke next. "Is she mad at me still?"

"Why would she be mad at you?" he asked, shifting to face her. She kicked her feet under the blankets, frowning to herself. "Christie, why would she be mad?"

"Because it was my fault. I was being mean," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to make the accident, but she got mad at me because I didn't want to go ion the back of the car, and she let me sit in the front instead. She was really mad, and then...then it happened."

Jay smiled and wrapped his arm around her tiny shoulders, kissing the top of her head. "She's not mad at you, sweetheart. And it wasn't your fault. Another car hit yours, and you had absolutely nothing to do with that. But you do know the rules, Christie. You have to sit in the back seat from now on, unless Mommy or I tell you different, okay?" When she didn't answer, he ducked his head down closer to hers. "Okay, munchkin? You have to say 'okay', or else I won't leave you alone."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Good. Now, I bet you usually watch cartoons in the morning before school. Why don't you run and turn on the television, and I'll go make up your breakfast. You're probably pretty hungry, since you missed dinner last night." She just shrugged as he helped her push the blankets off of her, climbing off of the bed. "Does your wrist really hurt?"

She nodded. "It bounces."

"Bounces?" he questioned, confusion written on his face.

"Yeah. Like this." And she raised her hand, clenching it into a fist before opening her hand, doing the movements a few times. "It bounces."

He nodded when he realized that she meant it was throbbing, and got out of bed himself, reaching for the mug of coffee. "I'll go see if I can find you some Tylenol for that. Go on, you're missing your cartoons." He watched as she walked sedately out of the room and into the living room, climbing onto the couch before turning on the television awkwardly with one hand using the remote, before selecting the channel that she wanted. He searched through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, finding an empty bottle of the children's version of the pain medication, before selecting the regular strength bottle, figuring that he could cut one up for her until he could stop at a pharmacy.

The sounds of her shows flowed into the kitchen as he went about making breakfast, scrambling enough eggs and making enough hashbrowns for both of them, before throwing the leftover breakfast sausages he found in the fridge into a frying pan to rewarm them. As soon as the toast popped up and he buttered it, he called her into the kitchen, watching as she slowly made her way in, holding the casted wrist in her other hand. "Christie, can you swallow pills?" he asked, smiling wryly when she shook her head. "Didn't think so," he muttered, before cutting a regular strength Tylenol into two pieces, grinding it down with the bottom of a heavy glass. He swept the powder into her glass of orange juice and stirred it before putting it on the table in front of her, as well as her plate, her sausage already cut up for her.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said automatically before picking up her fork in her fist and spearing a single piece of potato, eating it slowly. "Do I have to go to school today?"

"Nope, you get the day off. Thanks for reminding me, I have to call your school and let them know. Do you know if Mommy keeps an address book around here, with all the phone numbers in it?" She nodded and pointed to one of the drawers in the kitchen, before eating methodically around her plate, watching as he ate three times the amount that she did. He waited until she was done drinking her juice, making a face at the bitter taste because of the pill, before she disappeared back into the living room, before he gathered up their plates and filled the sink so that he could wash them up before he brought Andrea home.

As he waited for the water to cool down enough that he could actually put his hands in it, he made his calls, leaving a message for the school, and then calling both Chris and Adam, handing the phone over to his daughter both times so that she could reassure them that she was fine. He also got the name of her friend from Christina and made a quick call to their house, letting the mother know why Andrea hadn't called her last night when they were supposed to be home.

Jay put it off as long as he could, busying himself around the apartment, straightening up where he could, before Christina was dressed and ready to go. He changed his own clothes quickly and took her hand as he led her outside to his rental car, settling her in the back seat before taking off to bring Andrea home.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. You'll get a cookie.

Author's Notes- Again, just a warning. I work all weekend, so don't expect many new chapters this weekend, but because the story is almost finished, I've still got my fingers crossed for a before-Monday finish. And sorry about the hospital thing, but I have sort of a reputation for that. At last count, of all the stories I have posted on this site, four of nine include hospital visits or stays, and two are still to get theirs. It's an unhealthy fixation, I think, stemming from years of watching ER. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Twelve

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

Andrea groaned as she settled herself in the large bed. "I can't believe this. Everything hurts. There are parts of my body that I didn't know could hurt, and they hurt." She closed her eyes as she felt the blankets being pulled up to cover her. "You're really playing the role of nurse, aren't you?" 

He chuckled as he left her to go to the window, closing the blinds and then drawing the curtains over them. The only light on was a small lamp, casting the room in shadows. "Yeah, but I wouldn't look good in that 'Naughty Nurse' costume you wore for Hallowe'en all those years ago," he told her. "Do you need anything? I could go and get you a book or make you something to eat or-"

"I'm fine, Jay. I just need to rest," she said, opening her eyes to look at him. She frowned, before waving a hand for him to come closer to her. When he sat down next to her gingerly, not wanting to cause the bed to bounce or jar her, she raised a hand to his face, lightly running her fingers just below the dark circles under his eyes. "And talk about getting some rest. You look exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?"

He shrugged, as her hand stroked down his face. "Not much," he answered quietly. "I kept waiting for Christie to wake up with a nightmare, or because her wrist hurt. She didn't, of course, but I didn't want her to wake up thinking that she was alone. I'm fine, though."

She slowly raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. "Since I've been here, you've done two loads of laundry, made lunch andwashed the dishes...I'm just waiting for you to start scrubbing out the toilet. You're going to run yourself ragged, Jay. Christie's asleep, I'm well on my way, so why don't you take a nap, too. You need it just as much as we do."

"Nah, I'm fine. I'll just-"

"Jason, lay down. You're not going to hurt me by lying beside me for a nap. And before you try to argue with me, there's nowhere else for you to sleep, so climb in already.I'm not going to keep myself awake to argue with you for much longer." He looked hesitant to do what she said, but he finally got up and went to the other side of the bed, digging in his bag for a moment. He changed out of his jeans and into a pair of sweat pants, before climbing in next to her gently, keeping his distance from her. "Now, was that so bad?" she asked, before yawning.

He narrowed his eyes. "You seem awfully eager to get me into your bed," he teased.

Slowly, her head turned towards him, although her eyes had closed again. "If I had the strength to hit you, I would. Just consider yourself lucky." He smiled to himself before propping himself up on his elbow, watching her for a moment. "You're staring at me. Does this mean that you're finally going to yell at me?" she murmured.

"Why would I yell at you?"

She finally opened her eyes again, shrugging her shoulders as a weak smile spread on her face. "Look what I did. Christie fractured her wrist, I'm covered in bruises, and you're exhausted to the point of dropping. If I had paid more attention to what was going on, I could have avoided this whole thing, and you wouldn't have to be here to take care of us. I should have seen that other car coming."

"Come here," he said, settling her in his arms when she moved over. "You couldn't have done anything different. Yes, she should have been in the back seat, but that's not the point. It wasn't your fault. Both of you are taking blame for something that you had no control over. It could have been a lot worse than it was, but you're both fine. Besides, every kid breaks something eventually. Just wait until she goes to school and everyone wants to sign her cast. Trust me, a cast makes you an instant playground favorite. I busted my wrist when I was about the same age after I fell out of a tree, and I was never more popular in school than for that first week with my cast. And it makes a good weapon if someone picks on you."

He didn't get the response that he wanted, but instead, she snuggled closer to him, getting comfortable. "I'm sorry that you had to drop everything and come here. You didn't have a show or anything?"

"No, and even if I did, I would ask for some time off to stay with you. You're going to need some help for the next few days, at least until you're feeling up to moving around, and I don't work until Saturday. So, you've got me until then." He laughed softly. "I have to admit, those phone calls scared the hell out of me. I mean, they told me that you were fine, and when I got the call from the children's hospital, they told me straight out that it was just her wrist, but I was still worried. I made the trip in record time, though, and they barely stopped me at the border crossing."

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "They wouldn't let me call you. They said that I wasn't up to making phone calls, and that they would just call my emergency contact. I argued that it was the same person that I wanted to get ahold of, but they still wouldn't let me. I didn't want to worry you like that. I figured that if I had called, it wouldn't have worried you so much."

"I wasn't worried, I was scared. And I would have felt the exact same way if you had called me, at least until I could have seen you. I'm just glad you're okay, Andie. Both of you." He heard her sigh. "I'll wake you up for dinner, okay?"

"Why, we're both going to sleep through it," she whispered, about to fall asleep.

The smile on his face was apparent in his voice. "I'll set the alarm clock so that I don't. Besides, Christie isn't going to sleep for that long. Once the Tylenol wears off, she'll be up."

"Then tell her to go back to sleep. Just don't let go of me." She felt his hand run through her hair before he kissed her softly. "I need you, Jay, just like before."

* * *

"Daddy?" he heard, before the little hands were on his shoulder again, trying to shake him awake. She managed to push him a bit, and he yawned. "Daddy, are you awake yet?" 

"I am now," he told her. "What's up, munchkin?"

She leaned against the side of the bed. "I'm hungry, and it's dinner time. And my wrist hurts again."

"Okay, I'm getting up." He slid his arms out from around Andrea, before swinging his legs over to the side of the bed, Christina jumping out of the way just in time. She led him outside into the hallway, waiting for him to close the bedroom door. "How about soup and a grilled cheese? I'll even let you pick: tomato soup or chicken noodle?"

Wrinkling her nose, she plodded along next to him. "Tomato. That way I don't need ketchup for my grilled cheese." They entered the kitchen, and she climbed onto her normal chair. "Are you going to let Mommy sleep? Maybe she's hungry, too."

The next yawn that came from him cracked his jaw. He poured himself a mug of cold coffee and put it in the microwave, warming it up as he opened one of the cupboards and took down a can of Campbell's soup. "Nah, she needs her sleep. Besides, she doesn't like tomato soup, not like you and me. She always said that if she wanted something that tasted like a tomato, she would eat a tomato, not something that came out of a can."

"But tomato soup is good," Christina protested, watching as he removed his mug from the microwave. He hissed under his breath when the hot ceramic touched his skin.

"I know. She's crazy, isn't she?" he asked, winking at her. He poured her a glass of milk when she asked for one, and then handed her a children's Tylenol, watching as she dutifully chewed it. "Do you know why I like tomato soup? Because whenever I was upset about something, or I wasn't feeling good, my mom would warm some up and give me a grilled cheese sandwich with it. I even asked for that for my birthday one year, instead of having a cake, but she said no."

Christina giggled. "Don't be silly, Daddy. You LOVE birthday cake." She watched him dig through the drawers for a moment. "The can opener is in the drawer next to the one with the sharp knives in it. I'm not allowed to go in that drawer."

"And that's a good thing," he told her, taking out the can opener. "Christie, how would you feel about not going to school tomorrow?"

"I get another day off?" she asked, resting her good elbow on the table and propping her chin on it.

He nodded. "Sure, why not? Besides, it won't do you any good if your wrist still hurts like that tomorrow. But you go back to school after that."

Her eyes widened, a bright smile coming to her face. "Really? I get to watch cartoons all day?" When he nodded while making her dinner, she laughed. "Um...Daddy? You've been coming here a lot. And you spend a lot of time with Mommy now. Does that mean that you're moving in? I'd really like it if you did," she added shyly.

Jay didn't turn around for a moment, instead turning the burner on under the pot of soup and reaching for the bread bag, taking out two slices. "Munchkin, you know your mom and I are divorced."

"I've known that forever. You got divorced when I was a baby, you've both told me."

"You know that people who are divorced don't live together, right?"

She nodded. "That's why you live in Florida and we live in Toronto. Because divorced people aren't supposed to live in the same place. But you've been here a lot. And you're staying with Mommy, so does that mean that you moved in?"

Once her sandwich was in the frying pan and turned on, he walked over to the table and sat down. "It's a little more complicated than that. See, when I first came here, I stayed with her because there was no other place for me to stay, and I promised you that I was going to sleep here. But now I stay in there because...I want to and...she wants me to. Does that make sense?"

Rather than answer him, she asked him another question. "Do you love Mommy?"

"Well, I...why did you ask me that?"

"Because I saw you kiss her today. Remember? When we were getting her from the hospital, you put your arm around her and you kissed her. Right here," she added, pointing to her temple. "I saw you, so you can't lie about it."

He widened his eyes, before getting up to stand beside her. "But I kiss you like that all the time," he exclaimed, before wrapping an arm around her to keep her in place, kissing her hair with a loud smack as she giggled. "See?"

"But you do that to me, and you love me, which means that you love Mommy." Her smile widened. "So, aren't you going to answer me?"

He kept silent instead, flipping her sandwich over.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. It'll change your life.

Author's Notes- Enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Thirteen

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

They were lying bed, side by side, later that night, when Andrea spoke. She had been reading a romance novel, and he had that day's newspaper spread out on his lap. After almost thirty minutes of silence, she sighed and put the book down on her lap. "Jason, what were you and Christie talking about today at dinner," 

He shrugged, turning the page to find the comics. "We talked about a lot of stuff at dinner, including your dislike of tomato soup." Carefully, turning his eyes away from _Get Fuzzy_, he looked out of the corner of his eyes without turning his head, just in time to see her smile, before she straightened her expression. He chuckled, passing it off as reading the comic strips.

"I got up to go to the washroom, and I heard you talking, and wondered what it was you were saying. That's all." She shrugged nonchalantly, before picking up her book again. She feigned interest in the pages before her, stealing the occasional look at him as his eyes raced over the newspaper.

"So, what did you hear when you were eavesdropping?" he asked, throwing a grin at her, before looking back down. If she wanted to play coy like that, he figured that he could do the same. It was like a game to them, one that they had played many times before. "I mean, really, that's what you were doing, right? Listening in on someone's conversation is considered eavesdropping."

Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "Call it whatever you want. It was interesting to hear, that's for sure."

"Oh, you mean, when I told Christie that she didn't have to go to school tomorrow. I just figured it was easier than her having to sit there and have to go see the school nurse every few hours because her wrist hurt. But only one more day at home. Of course, you would know that, since you were listening to us."

He saw her fighting not to laugh, shaking her head carefully after a moment. "That isn't what I'm talking about, and you know it. It was something else."

He snapped his fingers as if he had just had a sudden idea, and abandoned the newspaper on his lap, leaning back against his propped up pillow. "I know what it was. The part where she was asking me if I was moving in, right?" Andrea laughed and nodded. "I tried to answer that, but then she threw all sorts of hardball questions at me, and it was like I was walking on thin ice or something. And she wouldn't leave me alone. I just HAD to answer her questions. She's too damned smart for me. I never thought I'd say this, but my daughter makes me feel dumb."

"I believe when someone's her age, it's called precociousness. And whatever you didn't answer, she'll just ask you again tomorrow morning over and over until she gets her answer."

Jay shrugged. "I guess I should just drop the bombshell then. Christina thinks that I love you." He smiled at her chuckle. "And now that you know, you can explain to her the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. Mothers are much better at that thing. I would just screw it up every time I tried to open my mouth."

She reached over and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, before he leaned towards her. He rested his head on her shoulder, looking up at her with hopeful eyes. "Nice try. You got yourself into this mess, and you're going to have to get yourself out of it. This has absolutely nothing to do with me."

"Yes, it does. We were talking about you."

"But I wasn't involved in said conversation. Remember, Jay, whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger...even if that means having to face your six year old. And her hard questions."

With a laugh, he raised his head and kissed her cheek before moving back. "She's your daughter when she acts like this, not mine." He avoided her half-hearted gentle swat at him, before putting a hand on the newspaper to keep it from sliding to the floor. "I mean, I could have very easily said, 'Yes, Christie, I love your mother,' but then that would mean that she would ask me why we got divorced, or why I don't live here. She doesn't understand the difference between the two terms, and I am really not looking forward to explaining them to her."

Andrea widened her eyes and put a hand to her chest, pretending to be shocked. "But...you love me?" she asked, before dropping the routine. "You're right, she probably won't understand, but just keep at the 'loving someone doesn't mean you're in love' speech. Being in love means...that you kiss in public. There, she'll understand that."

"But she saw me kissing you today, and that's where her idea stemmed from."

"Well, shit," she said, confusion on her face. Jay laughed at the sudden curse from her. She wasn't one to curse very often, only when he really worked at pissing her off. "You've got me, then. You could try using the 'we're just friends' card. I mean, friends have been known to kiss each other. Of course, if you use both at the same time, you're just going to confuse her more."

He groaned, looking up at the ceiling. "Now I'm confused."

"You and me both," she told him, smiling. "This is what happens when you have a child. You end up answering questions that you never thought you'd have to, and it's not like you can just walk away from them. When a child wants answers, they usually get their answers. You weren't the one that gave her the 'where babies come from' speech. She didn't look at me for a week after that one." She reached over and picked up her bookmark, putting it between the pages of her book. Andrea slid down in the bed, readjusting her pillow, before yawning.

"Tired?" he asked, folding up the newspaper and putting it down on the floor.

She smirked. "With the amount of sleep I had today, you wouldn't think that it was possible, but I am. Lingering effects from the painkillers they gave me in the hospital, I think. Besides, all that talk about love just can't compare to my book."

He chuckled, before getting set in bed himself, reaching over to turn off his lamp before she did the same with hers, turning towards her in the sudden darkness. "So, I told you that I love you, but you..." He trailed off, waiting for her answer.

When she spoke, he could hear the playful grin in her voice. "You know the answer to that question, Jay."

For some reason, he couldn't help pushing the issue. He hadn't mean to say it, but it just slipped through his lips before he could stop it, and afterwards, he felt like smacking himself. They had just gotten back to the point where they could talk and act somewhat normal around each other. He didn't want to push her away after all of that, but he said the words nonetheless. "But are you in love with me?"

She was silent for awhile, her mind racing with the sudden question. "That's...it's not easy to answer that. There's so many different factors to consider. I...when I kissed you, it just seemed so right, it felt right. And now, you're being so sweet, taking care of us. But I'm worried that if I say yes, everything will just go back to what it used to be."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm beginning to wonder if I was the right girl for you to begin with. I never got used to your lifestyle, and I don't know if I ever could. I know that I never said anything until the divorce, but I just never got used to it. The nights that you weren't there, only getting to see you a few days every week, you coming home injured all the time. I was scared. I could never compete with something like that, and I tried, but you were so focused when you got your contract, it was like I didn't matter anymore. You'd be better off with someone from your world, someone who understands the traveling and late nights. Not me. I have my routines and my schedules, and that's the way it's always been for me."

He took her hand once his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, watching as she struggled not to cry. "I never knew. You're right, you never said anything, and I never guessed that you felt that way. I thought that you were used to those things after awhile. I was focused on my career, and don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I've come to understand something over the years. There's more important things than that, and once I did know that, I realized that I was missing out on the two most important things: you and Christie."

She smiled weakly, taking her hand away from him. "You say that now, and that's fine. But back then, it was different. I couldn't handle that lifestyle, Jay, and I'm sorry. I should have tried more, I know that, but I just couldn't. I didn't like having to fall asleep without you there. I would lay awake, wondering where you were and what you were doing. It just didn't seem worth putting all that time and effort into something that wasn't going to pay off. I was in love with you right to the end, but it didn't matter anymore. We damaged the relationship too much."

"So, let's start again. Like nothing ever happened."

"We can't do that. There's history there, Jay. It doesn't go away."

"Ignore it," he told her, sighing with frustration. "I don't know where this is going, Andie. I really don't. But I love you, I miss you, and I think that I'm falling in love with you again. Do you know how much that scares me? I don't want to screw up again, not like last time. It just wasn't the same without you. And now, after spending so much time with you, I don't want my life to be without you. That has to mean something."

Her voice was small when she answered. "But it isn't just us that we have to think about. Christie is a big factor in this equation. She wants her parents together, of course, but what happens if it just doesn't work out. I wish I could just throw caution to the wind and say yes, but it's not that simple anymore. We're not twenty year old kids anymore."

Jay nodded. "I know that, Andie, I do. Christie will always be one of the most, if not the most, important thing in our lives. But just think of yourself, just for a minute or two. Tell me that you don't feel that way, and I'll give up. I don't want to, but I will."

"But I can't say that. I'm more confused than ever. I don't know what I want, Jay. I know that i want you in my life, but I don't know in what capacity."

He leaned over, his fingers reaching out to play with her hair. "Then let me kiss you. Just this one time, and after that, if you say that there's nothing there, we'll just leave things as they are. That's it. I don't want to push you, Andie, but you need to make up your mind. I'm not going to wait around forever." He shifted closer to her, and his hand came down her face, thumb running over her lips. "All right?"

"All right," she whispered.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language

Disclaimer- See Chapter One. You'll never forget it.

Author's Notes- This is a lesson to anyone who writes: never write yourself into a corner like I just did. I posted the last chapter about five minutes before I ran off to work, and the whole day (and most of today), I struggled through how to continue. I tend to do that a lot to myself, since I write the chapters in about twenty minutes, throw them into the online spellchecker, and then upload them here. That way I can't stress over what I just wrote. This time, I stressed. But now I'm back. And I'm sick, so I'm in a nasty mood. We're in the home stretch. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Fearless, Reckless Pursuit  
Chapter Fourteen

_The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait  
__For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose  
__And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love  
__It is not the destination, it's the journey_

* * *

It was the tentativeness in her voice that stopped him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and leaned forward regardlessly, placing the kiss on the side of her face instead. "I feel like we're going in circles here, Andie. We get to a certain point, we get scared off, so we just go back to the beginning. This is never ending, isn't it?" 

She looked up at him, biting her bottom lip. It looked adorable, looked like the Andrea he had fallen in love with, but he still restrained himself. "It's me, isn't it?" she asked, before directing her eyes away from his, up to the ceiling.

"Without trying to sound like I'm placing blame somewhere...yeah, it kind of is." He released her and sat up, the blankets lingering for a moment on his back before falling away. "Every time I get close to you, you shy away. I don't know what to do to change that. I wish I knew, but I just don't."

Andrea struggled to sit up, wincing when her sore muscles protested at the sudden change in position. "I think...God, this is like a bad game of Truth or Dare. Next thing you know, we'll be playing Spin The Bottle. Not that you would mind," she added, knowing that it was an attempt to make him smile. His smile, though, was just as weak as the joke had been. "I'm afraid of failing again. You know me, Jason. If I don't succeed, it's not 'try, try again' with me. It's bitch and moan until I drive everyone nuts. I can't allow myself to fail again, and that's what happened to us the first time. I failed us. I could have made more of an effort, but-"

"You did the right thing, actually," he said, breaking her off. Jay shrugged, before looking down at his hands. "After that talk we had in New York, when you explained to me why you left...I think you did the right thing. It wasn't good for any of us at the time. We were young, we were immature, and we had all these big ideas about what life was supposed to be. Now we know that life sucks, and life is hard, and all that other bumper sticker philosophy, but because we know that, doesn't it make a difference?"

She laughed softly, shaking her head. Her hair fell into her face, and she quickly pushed it away. "Well, sure, if we're talking about why insurance rates have gone up, or why neither of us have matched all the numbers on the 6/49 lottery draw."

"Inflation and bad luck," he told her, shrugging again.

"We haven't really grown up," she continued with a smile. "We've changed. There's a difference. And the part of me that changed wonders how this is all going to play out. We could entertain ourselves with the idea that we're a couple again, but how long would it really last. Maybe we were just never meant for this. We learned our lesson from what happened, and we move on. Sometimes, that's all you can do."

Jay was quiet for a moment, before he shook his head vehemently. "I don't believe that. No offense, Andie, but that sounds like bullshit. We learned a lesson, sure, but what exactly was it? That when we fight, we both feel like crap afterwards? That our friends can't stand to be around us? We needed time apart, that's all. I know that it made me realize what I'd been missing out on for all these years. And it was you. Not sleeping next to you, or the sex, or anything like that. I just missed you."

"You had me, and you let me get away. And it's the same for me. We never fought to keep what we had, why start now?"

"Why not?" he questioned, following it with a short laugh. "All of this is redundant. We just keep talking to ignore the real issue. I can't believe we're doing this. This is...elementary school behavior. Next thing I know, I'm going to be passing you a note that asks you if you like me, and to circle yes or no."

Andie laughed. "Don't get all worked up about this," she told him, stretching her arm forward to place her hand over his. "I just...this seems a little surreal to me. We've spent so many years arguing with each other that when we do sit down for a normal, adult conversation, I wonder if it's real or not. And no, I'm not accusing you of playing around with me, I'm just saying that it seems strange. Face it, Jay, no matter what we do, we just can't take anything slow. Both of us always speed straight ahead without looking to see what's coming at us."

He groaned loudly, causing her to laugh again at his antics. "Can we drop all the metaphors and just get down to the heart of the matter?" At her nod, he smiled. "All right, we both agree that we're getting along a lot better than before, right?"

"Right."

"And we both agree that this is a hell of a lot better than fighting all the time, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, now say that first thing that comes to your mind, no matter what it may be." He paused, taking a deep breath. "If I asked you out, granted it would be after you're feeling better, would you say yes?"

"Peanut butter." She grinned brightly. "You said the first thing that came to my mind," she protested when she saw his look. "All right, fine. I would say yes. Jason, don't look so shocked. A physical attraction is one thing, but I want to know if we still have what we used to have. I don't know what to call it, but whatever it was we had before, it wasn't completely based on a physical attraction. Does this mean that you're actually asking me out, or is this just a hypothetical situation?"

She could see the relief on his face and in his eyes at her answer, before he smiled. "Definitely not hypothetical. Definitely not. God, I sound like Rain Man or something. Seriously, Andie, as soon as you're feeling better, I'll take you anywhere you want.

She raised her hand and waved a finger at him. "But no lip action until then. Are we understood?"

"But that's no fun."

"NO lip action. It's that or I'm not going out with you," she warned. Her tough words were belied by the smile on her face. "Can we go to sleep now, because I actually am tired."

He moved so that he was back on his side of the bed, rearranging the blankets when he saw her try with a wince. "Better?" he asked. She simply smiled before turning over on her side to face him, moving until her head was against his shoulder, arm stretched out across his chest.

"Much better. Good night."

"Good night, Andie."

* * *

Christina sat on the edge of the bed, watching as her father continued to pack his bag to leave. "Do you really have to go?" she asked.

He looked over his shoulder at her, smiling at the sight of her in her school uniform. The little white blouse, plaid skirt, and black buckled shoes made her look like an innocent little girl...a lot unlike the one he had picked up at school and found in the middle of a schoolyard fight after the bell had rung. "Yeah, I do. I need to go back to work."

"But it's the weekend," she protested, sticking out her bottom lip.

"No pouting, Christie. You're in enough trouble as it is because of that fight. And I meant what I said about being grounded for the weekend. I'll tell your mom, and don't think that I won't." He dropped the harsher tone, and softened somewhat when he saw the shine of tears in her eyes. But he wasn't going to give in, not this time. He had to be stronger than his daughter, just this once, he told himself. "Besides, you know that I work all week. That's just the way it is. I'll be back next weekend."

Her eyes went down to her swinging feet. "Am I going to be grounded next weekend, too?"

"Only if you get into another fight," he told her, before zipping up his bag. "You should get changed before your mom gets home." He watched as she slid off the bed and walked out of the room slowly, grumbling to herself. He fought his smile until she was gone, and he chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He had to admit that when he saw the fight on the playground, he had been proud that it hadn't been his daughter that was crying. Instead, she had been standing proudly in front of the other girl, one hand on her hip because the other one was still in the cast, as the other girl was screaming at her. He hadn't been too proud when he had seen Christina kick the other girl in the shin, but still, at least he knew that she could take care of herself with the schoolyard bullies...unless she was the bully. Now that, he told himself, was a scary thought. But he couldn't get the thought of his little girl defending herself against the other girl out of his head, even if she did need to be punished for what she did.

He broke out of his thoughts when he heard the lock on the door snap open, and stuck his head out of the bedroom door, grinning when he saw Andrea. "Come here," he said, waving her over. He waited until he was close enough before speaking. "Christie's grounded for the weekend. And how was your day?" he asked.

"Christina Mary Reso, get out here now," Andrea said loudly, watching as the other bedroom door opened slowly, and Christina walked out, dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, still wearing the frilly edged socks that she had worn to school. "You want to tell me why your father grounded you?"

"Because he's mean," she said, glaring at Jay for a moment.

"You keep that up, and I'll ground you for the rest of the week. Now tell me what you did, Christina, or else I'll be even meaner than your dad."

She crossed her arms in a huff and looked down at the ground. "Because Sylvie called me stupid, and she said I was dumb, so I kicked her. And I'm happy, because she's not my best friend anymore. She's mean, too. Everybody's mean!" she shouted before turning on her heel and running back in her room, slamming the door as best she could.

Jay leaned against the wall and raised his eyebrows slowly. "Is this normal behavior for her, or am I just special?"

Andrea sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This isn't the first time that she's been grounded for fighting at school. And I have a feeling it won't be the last time. Just let her calm down. Talking to her now won't help, not until she's quiet enough to actually listen. Otherwise, it's like talking to the wall." She smiled weakly and walked past him. "Just let me get changed and I'll drive you to the airport. I still can't believe you convinced me to let you take my car, and have me take the bus home. You can tell Christie that she has to get ready to go, but don't be surprised when she fights you."

"Thanks," he said to the door that closed in front of him, before going to stand in front of his daughter's door. He knocked lightly. "Christie, come get your shoes on. We're leaving soon."

"NO!" she screamed from behind the door.

"You don't have get a choice, Christina. Come on, I'm only warning you once."

"I don't WANT to go."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "All right, fine," he muttered to himself, before opening her door. He walked in, despite her yell for him to get out, and made his way over to the bed, where she was laying face down. "Christie, you know we can't leave you here all by yourself, and there's no time to get someone to come over and watch you while we're gone. I have to go back to work, you know that."

She kept her face buried in her pillows. "Why can't you just stay here? I don't want you to go," she told him, her words muffled.

Reaching out, he ran his hand down her blonde hair. "I know you don't, and I wish that I could spend more time with you, but this is just how my job is. I have to travel a lot, and I work all the time. That's just the way that it is, sweetie. My boss will be mad if I don't show up, and then I could lose my job. You don't want that, do you?"

"But if you didn't have that job, then you could see me more," she whispered, finally turning over to look at him.

He raised himself to sit down on the edge of her bed, smiling down at her tear stained face. "But if I didn't have a job, then I wouldn't be able to afford all these trips to come and see you. I know it sucks, and I wish that I could have stayed longer, but I can't. But I'll make you a deal. I'll call you whenever I get a chance, and if you're really good this week, and that means no more fights, then I'll come out next weekend to see you. No more fights, no more pouting, no more talking back to me or your mom, all right?" He waited for her to answer, and when she didn't, he sighed. "Do we have a deal?"

She put out her little hand for him to shake. "Deal. But am I still grounded?"


End file.
